


May Hope Guide You Home

by DarkMage13



Series: Reylo Novellas/Longfics [3]
Category: Kingdom Hearts, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Canon Compliant Until End of TLJ, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Comedy, F/M, Happy Ending, KH Canon Divergent AU, Kairi befriends Kylo because of course she does, Kairi has an emo goth space BFF, Kylo Ren Redemption, Minor Rikushi, POV follows the ladies mostly, Post-Whatever Re:Mind shows us, Sporadic Updates Beware, Tros never happened, Xion has a different backstory, minor rokunami, post-kh3
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:22:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23441635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkMage13/pseuds/DarkMage13
Summary: Rey's day was already odd. First, she met a droid with a supposed map to Luke Skywalker, then a guy named Finn who claimed to be with the Resistance, and then she is being hunted by the First Order. But meeting two teenagers with magical mythical keys was just the cherry on top of it all.Or: The KH gang stumble into the Sequel Trilogy. Hijinks ensue.
Relationships: Kairi/Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: Reylo Novellas/Longfics [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2055786
Comments: 22
Kudos: 13





	1. In Which Kairi Doesn't Like Sand

**Author's Note:**

> Hello yes I wanted to write this after I made a million KH references in my last SW fic, _A Legacy of Duality._ Since the likelyhood of this crossover happening is zero I decided to give a crack at it.
> 
> This will generally follow the plotlines of TFA/TLJ but I will be diverging heavily after that because we're gonna pretend TROS was some half-baked gossip that got out of hand in the universe.
> 
> Also, this is taking place in my KH Canon-Divergence AU where Kairi doesn't go home to Destiny Islands at the end of KH1. TL;DR summary of changes: Xion is not a puppet in this universe, she's a Princess of Darkness (created from the would-be darkness born in Kairi's heart) and KH3 has Kairi not get fridged. This is post KH3/Re:Mind/Verum Rex/Sora is alive and well.
> 
> I will try to keep most of the movie-plot stuff brief and short since this is not the novelization but I will sneak some in here and there... ;D
> 
> With all that said and done, I hope you like this very experimental fic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Chapter 1: In Which Kairi Doesn't Like Sand_

* * *

"How hard could it be searching out here off maps?" Sora spoke with a cheeky grin towards his friends. "It's not like we're a small unit or anything." His eyes flitted from Kairi, his girlfriend and Princess of Heart, to his best friend Riku, Keyblade Master. Then he glanced at Axel—originally named Lea but now going by the name everyone knew him by first. To Xion, the Princess of Darkness and Kairi's opposite in every way. And finally, Roxas, the anomaly among keyblade wielders everywhere.

Riku rolled his eyes. "We're still going into uncharted territory."

"And that Riku," Sora relaxed in the captain's seat. "Will make this more interesting."

Axel scratched his neck. "Do we even have any clues about this part of the lanes-between? Not even like, some sort of map left behind or are we really going into uncharted territory here?"

Xion shrugged. "Nope. Nothing in the old Recusant Castle's library except the name scribbled on the edge of a map: _Galaxy of Stars_."

Axel scoffed. "That's so helpful and not vague at all."

Roxas stared out the window in contemplation. "There's been nothing but stars so far so the name is at least partially accurate."

Sora sighed. "Guys where is your sense of adventure? We'll find something soon, I know it."

"I for one," Kairi finally spoke after some time to examine the maps in front of them on the projected screen of the window of the ship. "Believe this place is something magical. I can feel it."

Oh, Kairi could feel it alright. Light and darkness were dancing around each other in a chaotic mess. Shaking, storming, like it was desperately trying to find balance but keeps being torn apart. It was… terrifying to say the least. Kairi tried not to think about it much ever since they journeyed deeper and deeper into this galaxy, far from the other worlds she had come to know as a source of comfort. Radiant Garden, Twilight Town, Disney Islands...

Ever since this search for King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy started since Sora came back, Kairi yearned for the warm sandy beaches of home. She missed sitting on the paopu tree with just Riku and Sora and watching the sunset. Some nights she would go to bed a little irritated and resigned—towards the situation, the cause of the situation, she didn't know. But she had Sora and Riku with her this time. They didn't leave her behind.

Kairi refused to be left behind ever again.

She snuck a glance at Xion. Xion, born from the supposed darkness that in theory should have gone to Kairi's heart, most likely shared Kairi's unease. The chaotic pull of light and darkness tugged at her own heart.

Xion nodded back at her, somehow understanding.

"This place gives me weird vibes," Riku said. "Like something is off."

"Hmm?" Sora perked up from staring mindlessly at the maps. Kairi knew Sora trusted Riku's instincts perhaps more than his own. "What makes you say that?"

"Uh, guys?" Roxas was halfway out of his chair and pressed against the window. "Is that a planet?"

Xion and Axel joined him in observation. Outside was a rather dry and barren looking planet very close to them. "Whoa, it is," Axel said. "It's huge. We finally found something in this endless star place."

Riku nearly jumped out of his skin at something else. "Holy—"

A ship, bigger than anything they had witnessed so far on their current journey—not the previous ones—was black and sleek in design and heading right for their tiny ship.

And there were even more ships.

"Sora?" Kairi gripped her seat in fear. "Might wanna uh; get away from that big ominous ship."

Sora reached for the controls. "Right!" He tugged the gummi ship forward and began moving as far away from the scary ship as possible.

The entire small ship shook. The systems and alarms screamed over the surprised yelps and gasps from the gang.

"Sora!" Roxas exclaimed from his seat. "Please tell me that was only your driving skills."

Sora panicked as he tried to stabilize the ship but gravity had other ideas. "I drive perfectly fine!"

"Sora," Kairi clung to the armrest of her seat. "I love you but you nearly crashed us into Hollow Bastion upon first visit."

"That was one time and it was Donald's fault!"

"What even hit us?!" Axel questioned, trying to keep himself steady in his seat. "I don't want to die like this!"

Riku latched onto his seat belt and reached forward to see on the systems that their engine was shot. "Uh oh. No engine on our left."

"Yep," Xion deadpanned. "We're dead. It was nice knowing you guys."

* * *

Rey's day started about as normal as one could expect, the only difference was she had a BB unit with her as the only company she ever really had for the last fifteen years of her life.

Once upon a time, she had some sort of warmth with her, carrying her through some of her early years of being a scavenger. It was a reassuring one in her soul, a hope of finding her family one day. Then, it went cold. Very cold. She was 13 at the time and never felt a chill so deep in the midst of a hot desert afternoon.

Now, Rey was nineteen and still felt cold. But this little BB unit following her into Niima Outpost was a small comfort. She stood in line for the day's rations from her small haul. She had found several pieces of equipment from a Star Destroyer that was sure to feed her for the next three days.

"These five pieces are worth… One-half portion," Unkar Plutt said with his usual gruff and sneer. Rey's lips fell into a tight line.

"Last week they were a half-portion each," she protested. Her luck never fared well.

"What about the droid?"

Rey looked down at the BB unit—named BB-8—a sudden dread twisting in her gut. "What about him?"

"I'll pay for him." Plutt shoved a pile of condensed portions over the counter. "Sixty portions."

Rey reached out with her hands in wide-eyed awe. It would be enough to feed her for months and accumulate even more. She wouldn't have to fear starvation for a while.

She looked back at BB-8, her heart sinking. BB-8 was the only company she had in her life and so far it was nice to have someone to talk today in and day out. She simply couldn't trade him away like this, even if it meant surrendering a full belly and security. "Actually," Rey said with slow caution. "The droid is not for sale." She grabbed the single half portion and left. "Come along," she said to BB-8.

Rey's day got odder as she walked around the expanse of Niima outpost, searching for possibly BB-8's owner.

What she hadn't anticipated was meeting a man wearing the owner's jacket, but also two teenagers close to her own age wearing odd clothing.

* * *

Xion's eyes cracked open amidst the glaring bright lights above. Her head throbbed from dull pain. Her back ached from the hardness of the floor. Pushing herself up, she spotted Riku and Roxas in similar states of disorientation. The next thing she noticed was an array of armed guards in stark white with weapons all pointed at them.

"Don't move," one guard spoke.

Xion remained as still as she could. "Riku, Roxas, wake up."

Riku groaned. "Wha…"

Something made Xion shudder. A darkness she had not experienced in some while since the Keyblade War. It squeezed her insides with fear. But she wasn't going to bow to darkness. She was darkness after all.

Roxas sat up. "Where—who are these guys?"

One of the guards' weapons clicked. "Don't move."

"Sheesh, alright."

The loud thumping of boots pounded in Xion's ears.

A voice in a chilling distortion spoke to the guards in white. "Who are these three?"

"Sir, they were found on their ship which was destroyed by one of our attacks."

"No identification?"

"None, sir. Their ship was unusual and never seen before."

A moment of silence. "Stand them up."

The guards grabbed the three up by their arms. "Hey," Xion tried to swat at them, but she was no match for any of them due to her small size and stature. She looked at Riku and Roxas, the two not fairing much better giving slight relief to her confidence, though Roxas had to be constrained by two guards by both arms.

It was then she saw the source of darkness. A man, tall and in black robes, had his face obscured by a mask and his hood was up. If he didn't have said mask on, Xion would have thought this was one of their common enemies.

He wasn't, but he had darkness singing about him all the same.

"What is going on?" Riku demanded first. "Why are we here?"

"I could ask," the man in black said in his distorted voice, "The same of you. Why are you here?"

The three kept silent. Their mission was critical and so far this guy and his entourage were not very trustworthy.

"Are you Resistance?" the man questioned.

"What Resistance?" Roxas answered. "Look, we were just minding our own business when your ship attacked ours and now we're here."

Xion's eyes flitted around the area. There were ships everywhere. They could have a chance at escaping if they found the perfect opportunity. The one thing was this man was obviously large and in charge and there was no hint of a weapon on him. Not yet at least.

"No one just minds their own business," the man said as he reached for something on his belt. It looked like half a sword with only the hilt and a crossguard.

And something flicked on and Xion felt her whole world crash in on itself. Flashes of golden-orange eyes and the menacing red glow made her dizzy.

The man in black's sword was a beam of red that crackled with raw energy as if it was going to explode. "I suggest you start talking," he said.

Roxas yanked at his own guards. "Like we will…"

"Roxas…" Xion warned, still trying to recover her senses.

Riku cleared his throat, eying the red blade with caution. "We're searching for a guy."

Keep it vague. Keep it vague.

There was a slight tilt of the man's head. "Elaborate?"

"He's a threat to us. He likes to meddle in affairs," Riku said. "He wears a black coat…"

Too vague. That could refer to half of the people they run into. Xion really wished she could face-palm right now.

"You're hiding something," the man said. "And I intend to find out."

Riku's posture became rigid as the man in black raised his hand up. "What the…" Riku gritted out in a strained voice.

Xion's eyes widened. "No!" Her hand clenched and she channeled her heart out, blasting back the guards around her with a surge of darkness, freeing Roxas and Riku. With a flick of her wrist, her keyblade was in hand, pointed right at the man in black. "Let. Him. Go."

Roxas and Riku gaped in horror at what she had done, but it was too late now.

"Keyblade wielders…" the man spoke as if he was fascinated more than intimidated. "Take them to a cell and do not leave them alone for a second. They can and _will_ flee."

"I don't think so," Roxas said, summoning Oathkeeper and Oblivion to his hands.

Riku had Braveheart in his grip. "Gonna have to fight us first!"

The moment was still. Then the man gave his retort. "Of course."

Xion couldn't remember much except she let out a scream as she was sent flying across the floor, landing flat on her back. She ached as she tried to maintain her grip on her keyblade, the sounds of metal clashing against volatile energy shook her pounding ears.

* * *

Kairi loved to lie in the sand on Destiny Islands. She loved the sun soaking through her clothes and the heat and cushion of the soft sand around her body. Perfect for taking a nap.

This place, however, she was anything but thrilled to be stuck in. The sand was rough, coarse, and everywhere in her clothes and hair.

She nudged Sora, looking around in the endless sand dunes for signs of anything else, and to find nothing. "Sora? Sora wake up."

Sora groaned, eyes sliding open as he turned over to look into her eyes. "Kairi?"

She breathed with relief. "You're okay. I don't see Axel or anyone else anywhere."

Sora sat up and shook the sand from his hair. "Uh oh. Where are we? We gotta find them."

Kairi nodded. "Yeah. Plus I don't think we're going to be finding a beach around here."

The two teenagers got up and summoned Kingdom Key and Destiny's Embrace, transforming them into gliders to make it easier to traverse the desert. As they flew over the dunes of sand in search of civilization and a sign of any of their friends, Kairi glanced over at Sora, focused and determined.

It reminded Kairi of her adventures with Sora over a year ago. They were stranded much like this, together. It took both their wits and reconciliation to conjure these gliders up and get back to their friends over a vast ocean. Once they found the Master of Masters, perhaps Kairi would ask Sora to go on a new journey with her, when it wasn't so dire and they could relax. Maybe even properly celebrate their 17th birthdays together.

Kairi would never forget Sora's birthday. He turned seventeen last week and he didn't say a single word about it; he was far too concerned with the Master of Masters and keeping the gang together.

She understood the strain this all had on their friendships. Some days she caught Roxas staring at his gummi-phone in longing for Naminé. Axel would mumble a comment or two about Saïx— _Isa_. And of course, Xion would tug at her necklace, an x-shaped symbol of her old home and her friends, fellow Princesses of Darkness who disappeared after the Keyblade War and Xehanort's demise. The burdens of being away from home were not easy to carry.

"Kairi, is that a town I see?" Sora pointed his finger to something in the distance.

She squinted. "Yeah, I see something. Maybe we can ask for directions."

Sora saluted her. "Race you there!" He increased the speed of his glider, zooming ahead.

"Sora! That's cheating!" Kairi yelled out while trying to contain her giggles.

The place they came upon—Kairi won the race as per usual—was an outpost of sorts. People in rags and masks walked about. Some of them glanced at the pair in disgust or curiosity. Sora made no hesitation to take Kairi's hand into his own.

"This place feels off, doesn't it?" Sora commented. "But different."

He stopped walking, forcing Kairi to halt in her tracks. "Sora?"

He was gawking at a large space-ship parked inside a large closed-off spot of sand. "Whoa… That looks so cool!"

"Sora, do you even know how to drive that thing?" Kairi teased. "It looks more complicated than just the gummi-ship."

He pouted. "I can certainly try."

She laughed. "We might wanna figure out where we are—" she was cut off mid-sentence when she spotted something adorable.

A woman who looked only a couple years older than her was kneeling in the sand. A man in a jacket stood as the woman talked to what appeared to be a little robot that rolled about.

Kairi let go of Sora's hand to go see it up close.

"Wha—Kairi!"

* * *

Rey had no idea what to make of the red-head in front of her, asking about BB-8. She had a spring in her step and her eyes were unusual—a color Rey had never seen in her life. And her clothes were a mix of black and pink, a very far cry from the usual matted rags most scavengers and gang members wore.

"He's a BB unit—a droid," Rey explained, standing up. The girl was short, very short in comparison to Rey's own weight and even Finn's.

"I'm Kairi," the girl said. "What's your name?"

There was something about her that Rey couldn't put her finger on. "I'm Rey." She gestured to the droid. "This is BB-8."

Finn nodded. "I'm Finn. Nice to meet you but we gotta go."

"Oh, where are we?" Kairi asked.

"This is Niima Outpost on Jakku," Rey answered.

Another teenager, a boy in black and red— _and what is up with his hair_ —ran over. "Hi," he gasped out. "I'm Sora."

"Sora, this is Rey, Finn, and BB-8." Kairi looked to Finn. "Why do you have to go?"

"Because the First Order—"

The roar of something coming at high speed was all they needed to know.


	2. In Which Riku Is Reminded Of His Angst Phase

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternative title: In Which Rey Starts Shipping Sokai.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow this thing just really struck the muse in the midst of my writing dry-spell. I didn't expect this chapter to be this long.

_Chapter 2: In Which Riku Is Reminded of His Angst Phase_

Riku paced in circles around their cell. Guards stood at the doors no doubt.

“Well this is just great,” Roxas gripped his arm, sitting on a bench. His black hoodie had a cut torn right through it. A cauterized wound was embedded in his skin underneath the fabric. “How did that emo manage to out-maneuver all of us is beyond me.”

Xion curled up in the corner. “I don’t even know; he shoved me back for whatever reason.”

Riku ran the battle over in his head again. That red blade the guy had reminded him of a former foe, but even more deadly judging from the very visible cut on Roxas.

Roxas himself was an aggressive fighter. He definitely was. Riku witnessed this firsthand—and still hasn’t gotten his rematch from last time. But Roxas held an advantage with dual-wielding; most people simply don’t know how to deal with it. To see the guy in black and a mask out-class Roxas like he was reading his mind would have been a very amusing sight to Riku if it wasn’t for the situation they landed in.

“Xion, can you heal this?” Roxas asked.

She nodded. “Of course.”

The one benefit of Xion’s powers, she didn’t need a keyblade to perform some of her magic. Roxas released his arm as the light green magic healed his wound.

“Will you stop pacing Riku?” Xion said. “It’s distracting.”

Riku stopped. “I’m trying to figure out what just happened.”

“We got our butts kicked by a guy in a mask and we outnumbered him three to one, that’s what happened.”

Riku rolled his eyes. “Duh. The fact he managed to land a hit on Roxas—“

“He got lucky,” Roxas muttered. “The same way you got lucky and had to cheat, Riku.”

“I only cheated because I had higher priorities—“

Xion sighed. “Ugh, boys. Please. Once we get out of here, you two can fight to your heart’s content but until then, focus?”

Riku sat down by Xion, opposite from Roxas. “You’re right.”

“Do we even know who that guy is?” Roxas questioned. “Or why he knows about keyblades?”

Xion shrugged. “The Master of Masters might have been here?”

Riku put a finger on his lip in thought. “Something tells me the Master was not here. That guy in black though, he has some sort of magic, but I was too focused on the fact there’s so much darkness on him that I thought he was a Heartless.”

Xion tilted her head, eyes widening at the realization. “You’re right. I felt it too. But, there hasn’t been any Heartless around.”

“Or Nobodies,” Roxas said. “And that guy, he doesn’t seem like one either.”

“Where do you think Sora, Kairi, and Axel are?” Xion said.

Riku’s heart clenched thinking about his best friends. They didn’t make it onto this ship. Which meant they were somewhere else, hopefully, safer than him and his cellmates at the moment. “Maybe they landed on that planet. Any luck with the gummi-phones?”

Roxas shook his head. “No reception. I can’t reach Naminé or anyone else for that matter.”

Leave it to Roxas to immediately try to reach Naminé first.

“So we’re sitting ducks,” Riku said. “And that guy in black, do we even know what he goes by?”

“Nope.” Xion popped the last syllable. “Could ask our captors outside the door.”

Riku stood up and knocked on the handle-less door. It was like they had a special place just for Keybladers. “Hey um,” he said through the little opening in the door to peer out of. “Who was that guy with the red sword?”

One of the guards in white answered. “What?”

Riku sighed. “I said, who was that guy in black with the mask and the emo hood and the red sword?”

“You do not know who Kylo Ren is?” the guard answered with befuddlement.

“Should I know who that is?” Besides the fact he had a ridiculous name.

“The entire galaxy knows him. He’s the Jedi Killer.”

Well, that was not what Riku was expecting. “The _what_ killer?”

“The Jedi Killer. Do you live under the sand or something? Kylo Ren is the Master of the Knights of Ren, Apprentice of Supreme Leader Snoke, the famous Jedi Killer who destroyed the temple of Luke Skywalker.”

Riku’s mouth parted in surprise. He stepped back from the door and sat down.

“Well?” Roxas asked. “What did they say exactly?”

“The guy’s name is Kylo Ren, and apparently,” Riku leaned on his hand, his brain questioning everything he had known since forever, “Luke Skywalker is _real_.”

* * *

“Stop taking my hand!” Rey grumbled out as they fled through Niima Outpost. Finn was rather insistent on taking her hand as if she needed protection. She was perfectly fine by herself.

Then again this day was not normal by any means. TIE-Fighters flew overhead, shooting at them, and two teenagers in strange clothes were trailing behind them.

Rey yanked her hand out of Finn’s grasp, setting her eyes on a few ships in the shipyard. One of them would be the best avenue for escaping the First Order.

“Why are they attacking us?!” Sora yelled behind them.

“Because they’re after BB-8!” Rey yelled back. “He has a map to Luke Skywalker somehow.”

Sora stumbled over his words. “Luke _who_?!”

“I think she said Skywalker, Sora,” Kairi answered back.

Rey rolled her eyes. Now was not the time to explain who was who.

Finn pointed at the ship in the distance. “We need to get out of here, what about that ship?”

Rey glanced at the junk-heap covered in ragged cloth and probably had dust mites in its hyperdrive. No thanks. “That one’s garbage!”

She pointed her staff at the polished chrome ship in the distance packing enough firepower to obliterate the TIEs with ease.

It was blown up, shaking the five of them in their boots.

Rey stared at the destruction for a moment before turning to impromptu Plan B. “The garbage will do!”

As Rey, Finn, and BB-8 boarded the ship, Rey caught Sora and Kairi looking to the sky. “Are you guys going to get on-board?”

Kairi waved her off. “We’ll catch up, don’t worry! We’ll cover you!”

Rey nodded right before her jaw dropped.

In a flash of sparkles were beautiful key-like swords in the two teenagers’ hands. Rey couldn’t dawdle around to gawk though, she had to pilot this ship alone and take out the TIEs.

* * *

It was strange, seeing two teenagers flying as fast as TIEs on what looked like open gliders or speeders. They were keeping up with Rey as she struggled to maneuver the old Corellian freighter through the wrecked star destroyers.

Rey had to focus, some primal instinct took over as Finn shouted to her the cannon was locked in forward position. Not good. Not good at all.

She could do this; she could fly this ship just as well as two teenagers who just shot an arrow of energy at one of the remaining TIEs without much effort.

Rey turned the ship, allowing Finn to take perfect aim at the last TIE.

And the only thing left she could do was hopefully leave the atmosphere. It shouldn’t be that hard, right? Rey, as far as she was concerned, never did that before. Then again, she hadn't pulled these maneuvers with a ship ever until today, with fight-or-flight instincts kicking her adrenaline into high gear and reservations out the window.

A memory of someone, unlike hers, taking reins of this very ship and leaving planet-side, took hold of her fingers and she braced herself to leave the atmosphere with the freighter.

Rey looked out to the ocean of stars, spotting the two teenagers perfectly fine on their glider-speeder thingys in the airless void. She could have sworn she could see a thin veil surrounding them in a bubble.

Putting the ship on cruising speed, she leaped out of the captain’s seat and caught sight of Finn climbing out of the gunner’s chair.

“Nice shooting,” Rey said.

“That was flying,” Finn said at the same time.

“Thank you,” she responded, giddy with excitement. There was no one to ever care about her developed skills, nor had she ever had the opportunity to show them, ever, until now. Rey held pride and awe and shock at herself for being able to pull this all off, to hear someone else share it with her was nice. Very nice.

“How did you do that?” Finn asked.

“I don’t know. I’ve flown some ships but I’ve never left the planet!”

Finn was in disbelief. “Really?” He was just as in awe.

A knock on the airlock shook the two out of their excitement.

Rey rushed over to the door and pressed the button—two odd looking teenagers stumbling in, unharmed.

Sora, the boy with weird hair in all directions, grinned. “Thanks!”

Kairi wobbled on her knees, trying to regain sense of gravity and where it was. Sora, without hesitation, reached out and grabbed her by both her hands.

“I got you Kairi.”

Kairi grasped his hands very tight her knuckles turned white for a moment.

“Thank you Sora, I’m fine.”

“Right Kairi, but I will still see if you got hurt anyways.”

Kairi pouted. “I am supposed to be protecting you Sora.”

“The paopu goes both ways Kairi,” Sora said in a cheeky way.

Rey observed how Sora inspected Kairi for injuries with a particular care and fondness that was, in its own way, strangely intimate. As if Rey was prying upon something special and she should look away.

But she can’t. It was too fascinating to see. Some invisible tether was keeping them together, some sort of power she cannot explain, but she can feel, sense.

“Paopu?” Finn asked.

Rey tilted her head at the blush that flooded Kairi’s cheeks.

Kairi gave a sheepish grin. “It’s a legend from where we’re from. If you share the star-shaped fruit your destinies are intertwined forever.”

Rey wondered if that was the tether she could sense between the two teenagers or something else, but she had more pressing questions on her mind. “Your weapons, what are they?”

Sora held out his hand and the key reappeared in his grip.

“Whoa what?!” Finn asked, eyes wide.

Rey’s own jaw was slack. “Is that a keyblade?”

Sora beamed. “Yup!”

“I thought keybladers were just stories,” Rey said. “As real as the Jedi.”

Sora dismissed his keyblade. “You mentioned Luke Skywalker. Is he real?”

“Apparently,” Rey said with a shrug. “I thought he was myth but after the keyblades and the First Order chasing after us today…” She didn’t mention that bond between Sora and Kairi being one of the anomalies to her very out of the ordinary day.

“What’s the First Order?” Kairi asked.

Finn stared at her like she grew two heads. “The First Order is the growing power in the galaxy. They’re unmatched by anything but the New Republic. They’re ruthless and led by a Supreme Leader, but most of the terror is caused by Kylo Ren.”

Kairi nodded. “So First Order bad, if they are chasing after us.”

Sora put a finger on his chin. “Kylo Ren?”

Rey had only heard vague whispers of a knight in black who led a group, the Knights of Ren. But now she had the name of one of them.

Kylo Ren.

“He’s big, scary, and wields a red lightsaber. He’s bad news. He can read your mind. He knew I refused an order to kill villagers,” Finn explained.

Rey frowned. Kylo Ren sounded like a monster.

“And wears black,” Finn added.

Sora and Kairi looked at each other and let out a sigh of exasperation.

“Another guy in black?” Sora groaned. “We totally need more of those running around.”

“Sorry man, the entire First Order higher-ups all wear black,” Finn patted Sora on the shoulder.

Kairi looked to Rey. “So where are we exactly?”

Rey explained. “We just left atmosphere of Jakku. BB-8 knows where the Resistance is, they oppose the First Order. We need to get him back before the map to Luke Skywalker he contains is lost.”

A spark of joy lit up in Kairi’s eyes. “I cannot believe that Luke Skywalker is real. We used to hear stories when we were kids about how Luke bested Darth Vader and brought down the Empire.”

Rey was going to like this girl very much.

* * *

Never in his twenty-nine years would Kylo Ren ever expect to run into a fabled myth, three of them.

Skywalker spoke of keyblade wielders once, how the Jedi waged war against them, a perceived threat. Kylo supposed he should have taken the threat more seriously.

The girl—Xion—had a very potent darkness he could feel from miles away. The man, Riku less so. It was constrained. Then the blond, Roxas, had attempted to get the upper hand on him with two keyblades.

Kylo pondered such a possibility, and what he saw in the heads of two teenaged boys. Riku had fallen to darkness and still uses it at his beck and call. Roxas was full of anger and fire, despite having come from nowhere. Born with nothing. A mess of contradictions.

Keyblade wielders were perhaps the most dangerous for a reason.

“Sir,” an officer, Lieutenant Dopheld Mitaka, said, snapping Kylo out of his thoughts. “We were unable to acquire the droid on Jakku.”

Kylo’s irritation flared up once again at this persistent and annoying fiasco. He turned slightly to see the pale-faced nervous wreck of an officer as he delivered his less-than-thrilling report.

“It escaped capture aboard a stolen Corellian YT model freighter.”

Kylo’s already clenched fist tightened, his shoulders rigid in his posture. That piece of junk was still around somehow. “The droid… Stole a freighter,” Kylo said slowly, failing to understand how a singular droid could even operate a freighter alone, specifically _that_ freighter.

“Not exactly sir, it had help.”

Kylo was facing Mitaka now, knowing exactly what was coming.

“We have no confirmation but we believe FN-2187 may have aided in the escape along with two keyblade wielders.”

Well okay, Kylo didn't expect that last part.

Still, his frustration with this damned droid took over, his dark side singing in approval as he took out his lightsaber and ignited it. Why couldn’t the First Order, with their military might and General Hux’s supposed perfect storm trooper army, get Kylo the one thing he needed?

The console in front of him was completely out of commission. His breathing ran ragged, picked up by the voice encoder of his mask. “Anything else?” Kylo asked.

“They were also accompanied by a scavenger girl—”

A feeling in the Force, faint and warm, shook Kylo on the spot. He reached out with his clenched fingers and shoved Mitaka into his grasp, the small man fighting against his choke-hold.

“What. Girl?” Kylo Ren demanded.

The Force vision he had many years ago had given him hints and clues to this girl. This ever mysterious girl he knew nothing about yet wanted to meet.

Find the droid, find the girl.

Perhaps this was going better than Kylo expected.

* * *

“…And will flood this ship with poisonous gas!”

Rey fumbled with the object she demanded Finn hand her earlier. She just _had_ to get stuck with people who didn't know a single lick of how to operate a Corellian YT-model freighter.

“Oh,” Sora and Kairi said in perfect unison.

Rey rolled her eyes as she worked to contain the leak in the ship’s systems. This hunk of junk really had lacked any maintenance besides the odd upgrade here and there. How she was able to get it to leave atmosphere was beyond her.

And then, she thought, it really was beyond her.

The ship jolted and the lights went off.

Well, kriff.

BB-8 beeped about how the ship was overtaken by something while they weren’t looking. Rey blew a stray hair out of her face. She should have told one of them to watch the console.

Rey scrambled out of the cramped space in the floor and rushed to the console. Red lights flooded the cockpit in an ominous glow.

“That cannot be good,” Finn said. “It has to be the First Order.”

“What do we do?” Sora asked.

Finn raised his finger at a thought. “You said poisonous gas, right Rey?”

Rey nodded. “But I already fixed that.”

“Can you un-fix it?”

* * *

Kairi had no idea what they were doing, squished inside a tight compartment with a little bubble surrounding them to ward off against poisonous gas.

Keeping a steady grip on Destiny’s Embrace, Kairi breathed in and out. This galaxy, as she could call it, was different from the worlds around her home. In the places she had been to with Sora and Riku—Twilight Town tethering right on the edge of light and darkness, the Keyblade Graveyard hollow and empty of a void—Kairi didn’t take much note of the light. It was a feeling that it was always there since her birth. It was only diving into the Realm of Darkness and being around Riku and Xion and even Sora at one point could she feel the coldness of darkness.

Here, the light wasn’t bathed in everything. She could feel the potency of the light coming from Rey, like the bright sun of Destiny Islands. She sensed the light in Sora too, she always could, and it got stronger when their destinies were permanently entwined, but now it was amplified, as if the light of the worlds wasn’t so blinding to her heart. Even Finn had a spark of light in his heart too.

It was weird to Kairi to be able to feel people this way. She always thought it was reserved for her friends, Riku when he claimed to be more powerful than the darkness, and Sora, well, she didn’t need to dwell much on Sora.

Which is why she sensed two more lights climb aboard the ship and she didn't feel her blood quicken in panic, as if she wasn’t really anticipating danger.

The overhead got lifted up and a man with greyed hair pointed a weapon at them—Finn explained they were called blasters—and demanded questions.

“Who are you?” the man said. “What’s that thing around you?”

Kairi looked to Sora who nodded in understanding. She lowered her keyblade and the bubble went away.

“Uhhh…” Sora scratched his neck somehow in the cramped space, about as clueless as Kairi was about how to answer.

“I’m the pilot,” Rey said.

The one holding the overhead was big and hairy, he had to be at least seven feet tall if not more. He growled out a response, and Kairi was left with confusion as to what was said, because she knew it was probably words but she was unfamiliar with the language.

Now that she thought about it the very tall hairy guy seemed to be someone she read out of a fairytale or something.

“No it’s true we’re the only ones on board,” Rey added.

Finn squinted. “You can understand that thing?”

The hairy guy was not very pleased.

The grey-haired man raised an eyebrow. “And that thing can understand you too. Come out of there.”

Rey climbed out first, then Finn, and Sora reached for her and lifted her a step up out of the tight hole, then used his keyblade and a small hint of gravity magic to lift BB-8 out.

The big tall hairy guy tilted his head at the gesture of magic and muttered something.

“Where did you get this ship?” the old man asked Rey.

“Niima Outpost, from Unkar Plutt. He stole it from the Irving Boys, who stole it from Ducain.”

The man’s eyebrows went up in bewilderment. “Jakku? the junkyard?” he turned to his companion. “Chewie I told you we should have checked the Western Reaches.”

Chewie snarked back.

Finn muttered something about being right and that Jakku was a junkyard.

Sora stepped forward. “What’s your name?”

The old man sighed with a lot of exasperation. “Han Solo. This is my friend Chewbacca.”

Kairi gaped. “ _The_ Han Solo?”

“Who?” Finn questioned.

“The war hero who was by the side of Luke Skywalker,” Sora said, stars in his eyes.

“I’ve only heard he was a smuggler, a famous one at that,” Rey commented.

Han rubbed his forehead with his forefinger. “Look kids…”

Kairi bristled at that. She was just shy of seventeen next week, she wasn’t exactly a kid anymore, and Sora was in the same boat. Rey didn’t look to be that much older than her either, and Finn was definitely older than the rest of them.

“…It doesn’t matter. What are your names?”

“I’m Sora.”

“Kairi, nice to meet you.”

“I’m Finn.”

“Rey.”

“Nice to meet you kids. Chewie put them on the next habitable planet. We need to get back to Chandrila and repair the old girl.”

“Wait, if you’re Han Solo,” Sora said. “Then this is the _Millennium Falcon_ right?”

“That’s right kid.”

“Where are we?” Kairi asked. “We’re uh, not from around here.”

“Currently we're in the western reaches of the galaxy,” Han explained.

The galaxy is vast, Kairi found. It wasn’t just one world, it was many, and people came and went on a whim. It felt odd compared to the ocean of stars she was used to. All worlds separate, divided, unaware the other exists.

“We need to get to the Ileenium system,” Rey said, pointing to BB-8. “This droid has to get to the Resistance and deliver a map to Luke Skywalker.”

Han’s eyes widened even more. “A map to Luke?”

BB-8 beeped in approval, projecting a holo of a map full of stars. Kairi and Sora both tilted their heads at the map, unsure how to read it compared to gummi-ship maps. Worlds orbited in real-time.

“It’s just a piece, it’s incomplete,” Han explained.

The ship shuddered before Han could explain anymore.

* * *

“What do you think they’ll do with us?” Xion questioned.

“Well we can’t exactly leave this cell—no keyhole to use—and how far would we go with that Kylo Ren dude running around and his army,” Riku said.

Roxas shrugged. “You’re Mr. I-Can-Sniff-The-Darkness-From-Fifty-Miles-Away, why not just use that and we can evade him?”

Xion giggled, Riku’s cheeks warming at the comment.

The Princess of Darkness ceased her laughter at another thought. “He’s walking darkness; I wouldn't be surprised if he could track us the same way, especially with… Me.”

Riku refused to let Xion stew in her shame. “It’s not your fault, Xion.”

“It kinda is, Riku,” She said, looking down at her boots. “If I hadn’t choked up seeing the red sword we wouldn’t be in this cell right now.”

“Xion,” Roxas said. “You couldn’t help it. Believe me, I wanted to…” His fists clenched up.

Riku couldn’t relate, but he could at least sympathize with the lingering pains of their former source of torment. Xion rarely opened up about her life for a year after Destiny Islands was destroyed, and Roxas’ temper still flared every now and then, thinking about what Xemnas had done to him, Axel, Xion, and Naminé.

Riku placed a hand on Xion’s shoulder. “It’s fine Xion. You didn’t know. Aqua was the same way, so was Kairi.”

“And Naminé,” Roxas added. “All we can do now is figure out how to deal with the edgelord. You know…” Roxas put a finger on his chin and sending a sly smirk at Riku. “He kinda reminds me of Riku. All things about darkness and whatnot.”

“Didn’t you wax poetry about Naminé and refuse to take that hood off when you had the Organization coat on?”

Roxas rolled his eyes. “Like you didn’t have your emo phases Riku. ‘I’m not afraid of the darkness! Lead me into everlasting darkness!’”

Riku’s face was perhaps the reddest it would ever be.

* * *

Kylo Ren had to consider what to do exactly with keyblade wielders. They’re extremely dangerous and give them an inch they were certain to flee.

And other matters bothered him… The awakening in the Force. He felt it, like a balm of sunshine rising in the morning. How he could feel it so strongly, he doesn't know.

He felt it again, the pull to the light.

“The weapon it is ready,” General Hux told Supreme Leader Snoke’s hologram, towering above them in the low-lighting. “I believe the time has come to use it. We shall destroy the government that supports the Resistance, the Republic.”

Horror licked at Kylo’s blood, and guilt flooded his supposed cold and dark heart. There was nothing he could do. He looked upon Hux and wondered how someone could be so willing and ready to execute an entire planet just to get at the enemy. Kylo was lucky Snoke was on his mega-class dreadnought several systems away, unable to sense Kylo’s bothersome empathy.

“Without their protection,” Hux continued, “the Resistance will be vulnerable. And they will be stopped before they reach Skywalker.”

Hux was thusly dismissed, and Snoke turned his attention to Kylo.

“There’s been an awakening. Have you felt it?” Snoke asked.

 _Thump. Thump._ That rising sun was haunting Kylo’s soul. “Yes,” he answered.

“There's more. The droid we seek is on the _Millennium Falcon_ , in the hands of your father, _Han Solo_.”

_“You’ll do great kid,” Han said to a little boy with tears in his eyes. “I will come visit every chance I get.”_

The frequency of those visits faded as a teenager, and by the time there was supposed to be another, Kylo Ren has risen from the ashes of a destroyed temple and the slaughter of innocents.

“He means nothing to me,” Kylo said, his voice trembling with each word.

The Master of the Knights of Ren was a terrible liar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope no one gets mad I'm skipping that one scene with the giant man-eating monsters and gangs because I frequently forget that happened in TFA.


	3. In Which Axel Receives History Lessons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternative title: In Which Kairi witnesses the beginning of a fiery OTP for the ages.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is getting bigger and bigger with all these POVs to consider and it's only going to get worse when we get into TLJ territory. XD (Also currently disappointed the uses of darkness is not higher)

_Chapter 3: In Which Axel Receives History Lessons_

Lea’s face felt like it was on fire. Correction, his face was actually on fire. The ground was on fire, and his neck was on fire and Lea was pretty sure he was in a self-branded inferno of hellfire.

It’s not like he chose willingly to wear black in a desert.

“Hey you, spiky, you alive man?”

Lea groaned as he got up from face-down in the sand, his head aching worse than the time he and Isa—because everyone else at the time are all teenagers and still teenagers—took too many sips of some spiked punch and ended up hung-over on the soft white beaches of Destiny Islands. Granted they had just witnessed Sora disappearing into thin air and Kairi looked like a distraught zombie so it was worth drowning their sorrows in the mystery concoction.

This was not like that. The sun overhead was hotter than Destiny Islands and the sand under skin was coarse, not like the soft pillowy want-to-nap-in sand.

Lea shook out his hair of the grains and blinked away the blurriness of his eyes. A man in a ragged shirt, a blooded eye, and curly short locks was holding his hand out to him.

“Ughh, could be worse, could be a lot better,” Lea said, taking the man’s hand. “Where are we? What’s your name?” He tried to think. Roxas. Xion. Sora, Kairi, Riku. Ah yes the gummi-ship went down near some dusty looking-world.

“I’m Poe, Poe Dameron,” the man introduced himself. “We’re on Jakku and it looks like my ship is uh, gone. I wonder if Finn is okay…”

Lea brushed a loose strand of his fiery locks out of his face. “The name’s Lea, got it memorized? I’ve got some friends too I’m concerned for.”

“Then we better get walking. I think I know where to find a town but it’s sand-dunes for miles.”

“I like it hot but not hot enough so I die out here so lead the way Poe,” Lea gestured in a random direction.

The two trekked through the sand for hours and hours. Eventually, ah sweet relief, they reached upon an outpost.

The outpost looked like a tornado hit it.

Lea scanned the place hoping to find any hint of his friends but found none. Now he was really concerned about where they went but figured they would be okay.

It was at this point Lea realized he had a keyblade glider he could have used hours ago, but he wasn’t about to say that to Poe. He didn’t need questions about the keyblade, not yet anyway.

Poe walked over to strangers on a ship dressed in rags and came back to Lea. “The First Order attacked here in search of a special droid, but it seems it escaped on the _Millennium Falcon_.”

Lea raised an eyebrow. “ _The Millennium Falcon_? The one that I heard stories about when I was a kid?”

“Yep. That very same one. I know the droid though, his name is BB-8 and he would have given the pilot the coordinates on where to go, and that’s where I’m going.”

“Where are you going?”

“To the Resistance.”

Oh. Lea’s head ached even more. Of course, he needed a lot of explaining to understand this strange new galaxy they were in. It occurred to him that the world order didn’t exactly apply. “Mind if I join you? Not like I have any other places to go to, and I would like to see if my friends are there.”

“Of course man. Good to have you onboard, Lea.”

“So uh, how exactly are we getting off this sandy rock?” Axel asked.

Poe’s face fell. “Good question. Got any spare credits on you?”

Lea ran his hand through his hair. “What are credits?”

* * *

Sora didn’t think he would almost get eaten by a space monster in a mysterious galaxy full of stars today.

Or find out that Luke Skywalker was real and not some fairytale he, Riku, and Kairi would grow up hearing around campfires during the summer.

Or be on the legendary ship belonging to Han Solo, war hero and best friend to Luke Skywalker.

This meant, in Sora’s mind, the Force could be real.

He remembered being six years old and declaring himself to be a Jedi, chosen by the Force and wielding a lightsaber and facing down the Empire and Sith. He even chose a lightsaber color out for Riku and Kairi at some point. Green for Riku, white for Kairi.

As kids grew older and things changed, things about the stories involving Luke Skywalker and the Jedi fell to the back of his mind. Seeing beyond Destiny Islands was a concern; finding Riku and Kairi was another.

He slumped against his seat in the Falcon, Kairi at his side. Sora had some sort of slimy substance on his baggy pants he really didn’t want to investigate, while Kairi was clean as can be. He joked once that Kairi’s powers prevented her pretty from getting diminished in battle. But he remembers the bruises she got a lot, healed away by a wave of a keyblade. At times Sora wished Kairi wouldn’t be in danger so frequently, but Kairi was stubborn to a fault—it’s why he was even here again after he paid the ultimate price to save all their friends.

Kairi pointed her keyblade at Sora’s pants and cleaned it off with a small water spell.

“Thanks, Kairi,” Sora said, smiling at his girlfriend. Girlfriend wasn’t really enough to convey who Kairi was to Sora; they were bound, intertwined by destiny and an innocent fruit. Girlfriend stated the base-level, what other people could see.

For Sora, Kairi was special to him, and that’s all he needed of a label.

“You’re welcome Sora,” Kairi said, returning the smile.

Sora glanced at Chewie who was sleeping with his arm in a haphazard bandage, courtesy of Finn and Kairi healing the wounds with no trouble at all.

Finn and Rey were with Han in the cockpit and BB-8… Well, what was a droid going to tell?

Sora looked, scratching at his neck. They were alone for the moment. “Hey uh Kairi…”

“Mmm?” Kairi said, dismissing her keyblade.

“What are we gonna do? Riku, Roxas, Xion, and Axel are all missing,” Sora hung his head. “I hope they’re okay…”

Kairi placed her hand on top of his. “I tried to call Naminé but no signal. We’re very far away from home, farther than I thought possible. It’s like everything is different in some strange way.”

Sora tilted his head. “Different how?”

“I can sense the light in everyone’s hearts clearer, which might mean…”

“You could sense the darkness easily too.”

Kairi nodded. “When I was in that dark abyss, the only light I could sense was yours, Sora. Yours and Riku’s fading one. I held on for as long as I could… Then you vanished.”

Sora’s heart dropped. The moment he was Xehanort’s puppet. “I’m sorry. I promise I won’t vanish this time.”

Kairi squeezed his hand. “I know Sora. You promised we’d be together every day, and even if we’re not—” She placed her hand over his heart “—we’re always connected.”

Sora nodded. “Right.”

He chanced another glance at Chewie, still sleeping.

BB-8 was sitting silently, perhaps too silently, in maintenance.

Kairi looked adorable today; her long hair was pulled back so it didn’t fly loosely in battle. Sora liked Kairi’s hair, the color unlike he had ever seen, and how it seemed to be magical in staying put even when Kairi was running, cartwheeling, flying through the air, casting spells. Her bangs swept across her brows, teasing her eyes and making her… coy? Was that the word? Either way, Sora appreciated it all the same.

With a bit of boldness and reasoning with himself that he wouldn’t get another opportunity for a while, Sora placed a hand on Kairi’s bare shoulder and leaned forward until he was kissing her soft, pink lips.

Kairi let out a soft giggle, entangling her hands into his spiked locks and kissing back just as gentle as he was. Sora very much didn’t have many opportunities to kiss Kairi—having a constant gaggle of friends around them didn’t give much privacy—but when he did, it felt like he had ascended to the skies in pure bliss.

As per typical teenage hormones, Kairi’s hands left Sora’s hair and cupped his cheeks, deepening the kiss.

“Oh,” Rey said.

Sora’s eyes flew open as Kairi darted away from him, her cheeks cherry red and visibly out of breath.

“Uhh…” Sora grinned sheepishly. “Sorry.”

Rey seemed to be staring, but she closed her jaw. “We’re landing.”

She turned on her heel and went back to the cockpit.

That was beyond awkward.

* * *

So maybe threatening the scammer with a keyblade was not the best of Lea’s ideas.

An entire crowd just forms around him and Poe, and Poe is staring at the weapon with a mix of fear and awe. It reminded him of when he first conjured the thing in front of Riku and then later on, Sora and Kairi. He just knew he could summon his own but getting it to manifest was another.

He pointed the keyblade at anyone who came closer. “We’ll just be taking this ship now,” Lea said. “I feel like a pirate…” He muttered under his breath.

Poe caught on, slowly backing up into the shuttle with a blaster—that was what they called it, a blaster—pointed at everyone. “Yeah, yeah, it’s our ship now.”

Poe scrambled into the interior, letting Lea keep his keyblade up and strictly on guard.

“I will be seeing you all later,” Lea said, pressing a random button on the side panel and closing the ramp.

Lea made his way to the cockpit and stared at how complicated the controls were for the ship. The gummi-ship was basically a child’s toy in comparison to this. Poe seemed to know how to make things work with ease and within minutes the ship lurched and they were off into the air.

Lea slumped down into the seat next to Poe, watching the blazing blue sky turn black, stars dotting the endless galaxy.

“So uh, Poe,” he asked. “What even is going on? Who is the First Order? Last time I heard about this place the Empire was destroyed or something.”

His memory was fuzzy, but hearing about the _Millennium Falcon_ brought back some very wild childhood memories.

“It’s a long story man. But basically: the Empire fell thirty years ago, and the Empire-remnants reformed into the First Order, led by Supreme Leader Snoke, and Kylo Ren is trying to find a map to Luke Skywalker for the First Order.” Poe’s jaw tightened at the name Kylo Ren.

“Whoa okay, Luke Skywalker… Huh.”

Lea heard of Skywalker as a teenager and vaguely recalled the campfire story Riku and Sora told on the beaches of Destiny Islands.

“So who is Kylo Ren?” Lea asked.

Poe’s jaw got even tighter. “He’s a guy in all black—”

“Ah yes, I remember running into… many of those a while back.”

Poe explained the slaughter of the village, how he was tortured by Kylo Ren for information, and Lea had to wonder.

“Is he some wannabe-Darth Vader or something? I heard about that guy,” Lea muttered, musing over the history lessons of the galaxy he got.

Poe snorted. “Wouldn’t surprise me.”

Before Lea knew it, they were landing on some planet in a port. People scrambled about to greet them and Lea stepped out of the shuttle first.

“State your business sir,” a woman asked him.

Poe stepped up. “He’s with me. Can you take us to General Organa?”

“Commander Dameron?”

Another woman approached. She was short, her hair greyed finely in a braided bun and walked with something Lea would pin as elegant, like a princess. The lines on this woman’s face screamed “don’t even try to pull one over her.”

“General Organa,” Poe said. “Have you heard—?”

“Yes I have, Dameron,” General Organa said. “We just retrieved a signal from Takodana that BB-8 is there, at Maz Kanata’s cantina.” She looked to Lea. “And who is this?”

Lea scratched his neck. “I’m Lea, ma’am. I’m searching for my friends, a group of teenagers with uh… Weapons like mine.”

Poe explained how he found Lea in Jakku.

Organa nodded. “And what does your weapon look like?”

Lea summoned in a dance of fire, Flame Liberator to his grip.

The woman stared in awe. “Oh. Another one.”

* * *

Rey’s face was hot, and not due to the heat for once.

She stumbled upon Sora and Kairi engaged in what looked like very… intimate kissing. Rey knew kissing was intimate, but the way they were doing it was somehow even more intimate. The way Kairi clung to Sora for dear life… Rey really wondered if she could feel that way about someone, to kiss them that way.

Rey stepped out onto the grass on the planet Takodana. So much green covered the surface. The grass, the trees, the growth on the sides of the water. The gentle breeze made her shiver, not used to a more temperate climate after fifteen years on Jakku. The chill lingering in her soul still remained.

Han walked up to her and presented a blaster. “You might need this.”

She wrinkled her nose. “I can take care of myself.”

Han nodded. “I know you do, that’s why I’m giving it to you.”

Rey took the blaster. The trigger was clear as day to her. It wasn't that difficult to operate one of these things, right?

Han offered her a job aboard the _Falcon_. Her heart leaped for joy initially and then fell.

“I have to get back to Jakku. I’ve been away for too long,” she explained in declining.

Han raised an eyebrow but didn’t say any more. “Too bad. Chewie kinda likes you.”

Rey turned around and saw Sora and Kairi looking at something in Kairi’s hand.

“You coming kids?” Han yelled to them.

Sora looked up, a wide smile on his face. “We’ll catch up!”

Rey followed behind Han and Chewie through the woods, Finn by her side with BB-8 rolling with little curious chirps.

The castle before them was large and vast. Finn seemed equally in awe as she was as they both stepped into the front doors into a cantina.

* * *

Kairi stepped out of the _Falcon_ , holding Sora’s hand.

Something buzzed in her pocket, a soft humming gracing her ears. Kairi reached for her gummi-phone, not expecting the call but getting it anyways.

Naminé, one of the Princesses of Twilight, was on screen. _“Kairi! Sora! You’re okay.”_

“You coming kids?” Han yelled to them.

Sora looked up, a wide smile on his face. “We’ll catch up!”

Kairi nodded at Han before looking back down to her phone. “Hey, Naminé. What’s up? What’s happened?”

Naminé’s relief fell into concern. _“Chip and Dale said they lost signal of the gummi-ship. I’ve been trying to contact you guys for hours with the help of Pence and Isa but trying to trace the signal has been troublesome. How far away are you?”_

“We’re in a galaxy very far away,” Sora said. “Very far, like uhh, beyond even Scala, or even where the Recusant Kingdom was.”

Naminé blinked. _“That’s… So far. What happened to the gummi-ship?”_

“It got destroyed by some giant ship the size of uhhh,” Kairi bit her lip in thought. “Xemnas-dragon-size.”

“I was gonna say that hurricane of heartless,” Sora added.

_“So really, really big, got it. Are the others with you?”_

Kairi shook her head. “No. They’re missing. It’s just me and Sora.”

_“I’ll try to contact them then and let you know where they are. Be safe.”_

The call ended.

Kairi looked up to Sora who nodded.

“Let’s go,” he said, holding out his hand to her.

Kairi took it without hesitation.

* * *

Inside the castle, various people sat around drinking from odd-looking glasses. Droids moved about, and a band was playing music.

“I’ve always wondered what these were like,” Sora said in a hushed tone but full of awe all the same. “Remember?”

Kairi wasn't surprised in the slightest that Sora was wondrous at this galaxy, or that a fairytale myth was real. She too held a bit of awe. The cantina—that was the correct word right—was lively with activity.

Finn bumped into them, his eyes wide.

“Hiya Finn,” Sora greeted. “What’s up?”

“Uhh, nothing, I have something to do,” Finn muttered, brushing past them. “Sorry, excuse me.”

The duo watched as Finn walked up to an unknown person of an unknown species and sat down to chat.

Kairi looked to Sora, who shrugged. She spotted behind him Han talking with a short woman with massive goggles on.

“Who is the girl?” the woman asked. She glanced up to see Kairi and Sora and her big eyes got even bigger somehow. “And you’ve also picked up keybladers.”

The duo tilted their heads.

“How did you know?” Kairi asked.

“I’ve seen the eyes of keybladers from eons ago. They all have a glint that screams ‘chosen one of the keyblade’. Plus your Force-signatures are drastically different from everyone else’s so that helps.”

Han gestured to the woman. “Kids this is Maz Kanata.”

Sora held out his hand. “Hi there. I’m Sora. This is Kairi.”

Maz squinted at Sora. “Hmm… I knew a boy like you once. Full of light and hope and compassion and very much able to love without effort. Right, Han?”

Han squirmed from the statement, opting to look away.

Maz nodded. “Keep a hold of that, Sora. People will try to take that compassion and hope and beat it down.”

Kairi could only sympathize. She had seen people try, and she would take a keyblade, a thousand of them, for Sora if she could to prevent them from succeeding.

Maz turned her attention to Kairi. “And you, dear girl. A Princess of Heart who has seen much in so little time. Your empathy and kindness is valuable to the world, a viewpoint you carry that allows old wounds to heal. I sense you’ll need that very soon.”

Kairi nodded.

Han coughed. “Maz, we need to get the droid to Leia—”

Maz shook her head. “And you need to tell me who that girl is.” she pointed at Rey who was walking down a set of stairs.

Han relented. “She’s a scavenger who needs to return back to Jakku soon. She said she’s been away for far too long.”

BB-8 beeped, but Kairi couldn’t understand exactly what the droid was saying.

Maz closed her eyes, absorbing this information at ease. “She’s expecting her family to come back for her.”

Kairi’s jaw fell open slightly, her heart sinking thinking about the implications of that statement.

Was it, once upon a time, little Kairi would sit out on the beach, looking to the stars and wishing she could go back to the place she came from? What family could be waiting for her?

* * *

Rey stumbled backward to the ground, rattled by what she had just seen. A man in black with a red lightsaber crackling with volatile power, slaughtering a man in the rain. A forest with snow and before her was the source of a coldness in her soul since she was a younger girl, holding that same lightsaber once more.

Terrifying enough, she felt a bright warmth for one moment, one single moment, and then it was gone as quick as it came.

Fear struck her heart and immobilized her, her legs shaking until she fell over.

She looked at Maz who came running and had put together what she had done.

“What was that?” Rey’s voice shook. _Cold, cold, so cold._

“That lightsaber was Luke’s, and before that, his father’s, Anakin Skywalker. And now, it calls to you.” Maz said it with such awe and reverence.

Rey felt no awe, only dread. The being in the mask in her vision was who she could only assume was the monster Kylo Ren.

“I have to get back to Jakku,” she whispered.

Maz took off her large goggles, her eyes very small but warm. “Han told me.” Maz reached up and took her hand. “Dear child… I see your eyes. You already know the truth. Whoever you are waiting for on Jakku, they’re never coming back.”

Rey’s heart tore in two, and the tears threatening the edge of her eyes spilled over.

“But, there’s someone who still could.”

Rey’s first conclusion was Luke Skywalker. He had used this lightsaber once. Perhaps he would give her the answers she wanted.

“The belonging you seek is not behind you, but ahead,” Maz added. “I am no Jedi, but I feel the Force. It moves through and surrounds every living thing.”

Rey didn’t want to be a part of this. She didn’t ask for this. Something inside of her was once dormant but now it is alive and awake and calling out for something beyond her need of family, a family that left her behind.

Cold. Cold even in the heat of unforgiving desert.

So she ran.

* * *

Sora saw Finn follow two people outside of the cantina. “Where is Finn going?” he asked Han, who shrugged.

Without thinking, Sora chased after Finn.

“Hey Finn!” Sora yelled to him outside of the cantina. “Where…” Sora saw him boarding a ship with cargo in his hands. “Where are you going?”

Finn looked at him with a frown. “I’m not with the Resistance Sora. I left the First Order. They’re dangerous and ruthless and we all need to run, not fight. I’ve seen what they can do.”

Sora’s shoulders sagged. “What about Rey and BB-8? They need you.”

Finn looked at him with a brief flash of guilt. “I’m sorry.”

Before Sora could say anymore, Kairi’s voice spoke behind him.

“Sora?”

Sora turned around and Kairi looked pale, sickly pale. Her breathing was ragged from some sort of exhaustion and she had her hand over her heart.

Sora rushed over to her, placing his hands on her shoulders to steady her. “Kairi? What’s wrong?”

“I—I don’t know,” she said, tears dripping down her cheeks. “It just suddenly came over me, like a thousand lights going out all at once.” She looked up to the sky and her eyes widened in horror. “What’s that?” She pointed at the sky and Sora followed her eye line.

Red dots.

* * *

Kylo Ren stood on the bridge of the star destroyer _Finalizer_ , his fists clenched and bile lingering in his throat.

The droid was on Takodana. That was all he could focus on. The droid and the girl. He couldn’t think about what was coming, something he wished he could have stopped.

Snoke would berate him for his weakness, his slight indulgence in the light, but he couldn’t squish down this sickening feeling. No matter the atrocities he committed, he would never ever consider _this_.

A red streak tore across the stars like a fresh wound. Kylo looked on; thankful the mask he wore hid away his expression; hid away the brief moment of his old, dead self shining through feeling and weeping for the billions who died within seconds.

He wanted to take his lightsaber to something, anything to relieve the pain and the cries vibrating in the Force, but he found himself immobilized and unable to do more than stand there and take it all as a statue.

Kylo never wanted this. Not now, not ever.

“Sir,” a stormtrooper spoke. “We’ve arrived at Takodana.”

Kylo tore his gaze away and forced himself to re-focus on his mission: the map to Skywalker.

When the shuttle landed upon Takodana, the stormtroopers cleared the way. Kylo departed the shuttle, pulling his hood up and surveying the damage. All the Force-signatures around him plus the vibrant life of the planet was overwhelming on top of the pain of billions dying at once many minutes ago.

He breathed in and out, letting the dark side of the Force guide his actions.

“Sir, the droid was spotted heading west with a girl,” the captain of the squadron said.

The Force was granting small mercies. Kylo dismissed the other Force-signature, the one he wasn’t ready to confront, and made his way west into the woods.

Panic rose in Kylo as he got deeper and deeper into the forest. A new Force-signature, bright and shining like the sun on a beautiful sunny day, grew closer. He just knew where it was now, and prepared his lightsaber.

The signature was behind a rock. He turned the corner and spotted a slip of a girl— _the_ girl—with a blaster in her grip and eyes wide.

She shot first.

He deflected.

She continued to shoot, taking hasty steps backward to get away from him.

The fear written on her face somehow pained Kylo, which was ridiculous of a thought. He had never met this girl before—but her light was bright and warm and calling…

No, none of that nonsense.

He followed her, steady as he got close enough to reach out with the Force and immobilize her on the spot.

“The girl I heard so much about,” he said. What a silly notion. He heard of her merely hours ago. But yet, a small tiny part of him knew her, her Force-signature giving him all sorts of contradictions his mind couldn’t comprehend.

Kylo really needed to focus. He looked her up and down. The reports were true: she was a scavenger from Jakku. All she had on her was a blaster; no doubt provided by Han Solo.

“The droid,” he said, holding up his still-ignited lightsaber to make sure she would comply. “Where is it?”

A gasp brought him back to reality. He could feel her terror somehow. Since when could he do that? Was his power growing stronger in the dark side or was it something else?

Kylo needed answers. He reached out with his hand, lowering his crossguard and disengaging it. A gentle push against her mind and he saw something _better_ than just the location of the droid.

“The map… You’ve seen it,” he said in wonder. A little twist of hope rose in his chest. Who needed a silly BB unit when right here in this bright shining light’s mind was what he sought?

“Sir, Resistance fighters. We need more troops,” the captain said.

Time to take his leave. “Pull the division out,” he looked once more at the scavenger. “Forget the droid. We have what we need.” Kylo reached for her and lulled her into a slumber, picking her up into his arms and walking back to the shuttle.

In hindsight, it wasn't exactly one of Kylo’s best ideas to carry her like this. Her head hung back, completely limp. His arm supported under her knees. It took an extraneous amount of effort to walk over the rough terrain of the forest and sweat beaded inside the mask, almost suffocating him. His worst nightmare was going up the steep ramp of his ship.

* * *

Kairi struggled to keep herself standing even as she leaned on Sora’s shoulder. Everyone in the cantina walked out to witness the red dots in the sky and screams and shouts of terror told her all she needed to know.

“What was that?” Sora asked Han, horror on the old man’s face.

Finn came rushing over, panicked. “That was the Hosnian System. The First Order, they did it. They completed their superweapon.”

Another tear slipped out down Kairi’s cheek. “Where’s Rey?” She asked.

Maz came out and gestured to Finn and Han. “Come with me.”

Sora nodded to Maz. “We’ll catch up.”

Kairi was fine with staying back, her heart bled for all those who perished. She curled up into Sora’s shoulder more. “All those people…”

Sora held her, not saying anything; his heart bled too.

A roar in the distance and the ground shook.

“Uh oh,” Sora said, trying to keep Kairi steady. “Uh, Kairi?”

Kairi got a grip on herself—now was no longer the time to grieve what she didn’t know. She took his hand. “They found us.”

Sora summoned Kingdom Key into his hand, squinting in the distance. He dodged down and formed a bubble over their heads right as a blast fired off straight towards them.

The castle was reduced to rubble in minutes. Kairi shifted up, breathing in and out and regaining her strength. Still gripping Sora's hand, she looked to him, and he reciprocated in understanding.

“Together,” she said, Destiny’s Embrace in her other hand. Soldiers in stark-white crawled onto the scene.

“Stormtroopers!” Sora exclaimed.

Sora was on the defensive, throwing water spells to wash the enemies out and Kairi twirled her keyblade in a golden arc, deflecting shots from the stormtroopers.

Behind them, Chewie pushed up a piece of rubble, Han, Finn, and Maz climbing out.

“You kids look fine,” Han said, firing his blaster at a charging troop. Chewie had a massive cross-bow like weapon out, which inspired Kairi.

“Cover me Sora!” Kairi ducked down to transform her keyblade into a bow, taking aim and firing an arrow bathed in light and golden sparkles. It hit a stormtrooper square in the helmet, knocking them down.

Sora nodded. “You got it Kairi!” He cast an aeroaga, a storm whirling away with the debris of the castle. Some stormtroopers fled from the mini-tornado.

Kairi caught Finn out of the corner of her eye wielding a blue glowing beam of light.

“Whoa,” Kairi said in awe.

Finn gripped the weapon tight, but also with a bit of fear. “Yeah, whoa.”

“I got your back,” Kairi said, preparing another arrow.

Finn charged off, holding the lightsaber with somewhat of a struggle. He didn’t seem to be unfamiliar with melee-combat, but Kairi knew lightsabers were weightless aside from the hilts. She was thankful for all of Sora’s many ramblings as a kid paying off on this knowledge now.

In the ensuing chaos, they were cornered by the stormtroopers, Han, Chewie, Finn, Sora, and Kairi all crowded behind a bubble. Sora strained to keep it up with each blast, but Kairi had to keep firing arrows back.

“We have incoming!” one of the stormtroopers shouted. The entire squad scattered with their attention off of the group.

Sora lowered his keyblade, popping his shoulder. “Haven’t done that in a while,” he said.

Kairi squinted at the horizon full of a cloudy mass. “What’s happening?”

Han looked in her direction. “It’s the Resistance.”

Up above, small First Order ships flew in, firing shots at the Resistance fighters.

The fire-fight resumed, Han and Chewie moving through the ruins of the castle with their weapons firing in all directions. Sora and Kairi followed after Finn, Finn carrying the lightsaber but not igniting it.

Too many questions, not enough answers.

“Heyo!” a familiar easy-going voice spoke above them. It was Axel on his keyblade bike, roaring flames painted on the sides.

“Axel!” Kairi exclaimed.

“You’re okay!” Sora smiled.

Axel outstretched his hand. “You think a little heat and a ship-crash is gonna bring me down that easily?” Orbs of flame flew out of his hand, homing in on the ships in the air, aiding the Resistance.

Kairi was happy to be relieved for once.

Amidst the chaos, the squad of stormtroopers thinned out. The First Order ships began retreating.

Taking a breath, Kairi rushed to Sora who was on his knees. “Man, this is a lot of action for one day,” he said.

Kairi raised an eyebrow. “Still out of shape from Yozora you bum?”

Sora grinned. “I see you stayed in top form while I was off fighting through a city in another dimension.”

She raised her keyblade and healed his wounds. “Of course. Who else was gonna spar with Riku?”

Sora’s response fell on deaf ears. Now that she was able to take a moment to breathe properly, Kairi felt an immense darkness and an immense light, shining bright on each other. She turned away and spotted a man in all black carrying Rey aboard a First Order ship.

Kairi normally would rush to stop the kidnapping that was unfolding, but she was so startled by the darkness and the scene unfolding in such a manner.

Only Sora carried her like that—or attempted to, bless his heart.

She couldn't help but feel like she was missing something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kylo is in hot denialville what else is new.
> 
> I'm on [twitter](https://twitter.com/DarkMageXIII) where I yell about this fic and other fics.


	4. In Which Sora is About to Throw Hands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternative title: In Which Sora and Kairi are Emotionally Traumatized.
> 
> Bonus Alternative Title: In Which Rey is Annoyed by Kylo's Hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically the end of TFA now. Whew there was a lot to put in here. Also apologies for the rather angsty turn it took near the end here but well... Canon did it. (Tags have been updated) 

_Chapter 4: In Which Sora is About to Throw Hands_

Xion rested against Riku’s shoulder in a deep sleep. He brushed aside one of her stray locks. Her hair had remained short, but more wavy as time went on. It suited her.

“They knocked us out and moved us to some other pit, just great,” Roxas grumbled.

Riku nodded. “Kylo Ren knows how to deal with keybladers for sure.”

“Now the question is where are we now?” Roxas said. “You think we're on a different ship or something?”

“If we’re on a bigger ship, then trying to escape is gonna be even harder, and dark corridors are unpredictable.” Riku looked at Xion, who could easily open one if she wanted to, but knowing where to go or where they’re going to end up on was a different matter. She was no Xehanort. Plus, the unfortunate disadvantage of being in a very weird galaxy with its own rules to play by.

Roxas tried his gummi-phone again to no prevail. “No signal. Something has to be blocking it.”

Riku raised an eyebrow. “What makes you think that?”

Roxas shrugged. “If Naminé and Pence haven’t gotten a signal by now I would be very surprised.”

* * *

Kairi was in awe, the same way Sora was in awe the first time he heard about the adventures of Luke Skywalker.

Leia Organa, Princess of Alderaan, was in charge of the Resistance.

She had spotted the familiar braids of Leia and how she had aged gracefully, holding herself like a general who had seen war and knows how to command a presence.

Kairi helped Sora to his feet as she strained her curious and nosy ears to hear what Han was speaking to her about.

“…saw him, Leia. I saw our son.”

Kairi whispered to Sora. “Leia and Han have a son.”

“Man, how long ago was the war against the Empire?” Sora asked, cranking his neck to hear a loud pop. “If they have a kid now.” He waved down Axel.

Axel had landed his glider next to the duo, wiping sweat off his brow. “Whew, that was insane. Where do you think those guys went?”

Kairi shrugged. “The First Order just left. I don’t know why, but I saw a guy in black carry away our friend Rey.”

Axel rolled his eyes. “Great. I swear it’s our job at this point to chase after guys in black. First, the Master of Masters now that Kylo Ren dude…”

“I think I saw him. I could feel the darkness coming off him from quite the distance,” Kairi said.

Sora put a finger on his lip. “Sounds like him. We would know if it was anyone else like the Master or Luxu.”

Luxu. Another pain in their sides.

“Anyways,” Axel began, “The Resistance wants us to join them. I learned a lot on the way here.”

“Of course we’ll join them,” Sora said, stars in his eyes. “Helping out the great General Leia will be awesome.”

Kairi agreed. Aiding her childhood heroine was a dream come true.

* * *

On the ride to the Resistance Base—D’Qar it was called—Axel explained all the things he learned that happened in the last thirty years including the rise of the First Order in secret, their test of a superweapon that Sora had witnessed in the sky earlier, and how Leia was a senator in the now-destroyed New Republic.

Sora squeezed the hand of Kairi, thinking about how she looked so shaken and pale during the destruction. It reminded him of the night Destiny Islands fell to darkness, Kairi was the same way, a zombie overwhelmed by the mass destruction. At least she didn’t disappear in his arms this time.

Finn sat next to Axel, looking down at his feet.

“Hey,” Sora said to Finn, getting him to look up. “We’ll find Rey. She’ll be alright, I know it.”

That did nothing to get Finn to perk up. “You don’t know Kylo Ren as I do.” His expression turned into a glare at Han who was talking to Chewie near the cockpit. “And it feels like Han doesn’t care.”

Sora shook his head. “Han does care. I remember hearing about when he came back to help Luke blow up the first Death Star. He does care.”

It was quite odd though that Han seemed very nonchalant about the fact Rey was kidnapped by the First Order. Sora’s gut about Rey being alright, for all he knew, could be way off.

Way, way off.

* * *

Kylo Ren was nothing short of stubborn, a trait he carried over from his previous life as a padawan. He refused to let the girl in his arms be dragged away or carried by any of the stormtroopers. No, he would see this task through all the way.

There was no other way for this lovely girl, with a light so shimmering it was causing his own shadow to grow more intense, to be interrogated for information besides the usage of the Force. He remembered the first time he invaded into someone’s mind and ripped the information out. It was to spare a man’s life, in his own twisted logic.

He didn’t want to do it so harshly, taking his anger and frustration out on the Resistance pilot—the man’s arrogance screaming so loudly it gave Kylo a headache. No, not with her. Not with this girl, which upon closer inspection had a light dusting of freckles on her cheekbones.

He carried her through Starkiller Base, not caring if he got odd looks from the officers or even General Hux—Kylo could care less about what the sniveling weasel thought about him in this moment. Hux already knew the plans to interrogate her, and Kylo was going to see it through.

In a more gentle manner of course.

Kylo made sure she was restrained to the interrogation chair and then took a step back, puzzled by how her light was strong. Very, very strong. It made his darkness tremble; how the light was calling again.

He waited patiently for the Force-induced slumber to wear off and he could speak to her. There were many things he wanted to ask. Her name perhaps was the best place to start.

Her eyes fluttered and then she jerked awake, panic flowing over her features as she looked around in a mix of fear and disgust before her eyes landed upon Kylo.

Kylo wasn’t surprised she looked at him like prey about to be attacked by a predator. Not surprised, but also saddened in a way.

“Where am I?” she questioned, her voice cracking a little to contain her fear.

“You’re my guest,” he answered simply.

“Where are the others?”

“You mean the murders, traitors, and thieves you call friends? You’ll be relieved to hear I have no idea.”

He expected relief to wash over her features, but nothing, just a glare.

He wanted to laugh for the first time in years; of course, she had a death glare, she was willing to shoot at him first before he even got within ten-feet in front of her.

“You still want to kill me,” he said.

She fired back. “That happens when you’re being hunted by a _creature_ in a mask.”

This interrogation might just go his way if he played his cards right. On impulse, he took off his mask and shook out his hair.

Her eyes were wide, staring at him. He wasn’t that terrible looking… Right?

Setting his mask down with a loud thump, he strode over to her and she averted her gaze, failing to sneak glances every now and then.

“Tell me about the droid,” he asked, feeling odd that his voice was no longer hidden by an encoder.

“He’s a BB unit with a selenium drive and a thermal hyperscan vindicator—”

He held back a roll of his eyes at the obvious jab. She was very resilient to typical interrogation tactics, wasn’t she? “—Carrying a section of a navigational chart. We have the rest, recovered from the archives of the Empire but we need the last piece and somehow you convinced the droid to let you see it. You. A _scavenger_.”

She didn’t budge at the scavenger remark. He took another step closer and delivered his threat, one he really didn’t want to follow through on but left with no other choice. The map to Skywalker was right in front of him and he needed it, now.

“You know I can take whatever I want.”

She didn’t seem to understand what Kylo meant until he leaned over, his hand hovering over her temple and he pressed against the surface of her mind.

Kylo learned a few things, seeing her world in her eyes.

First, her name was Rey.

Second, she dreamed of an island, full of green.

Thirdly, she was beyond lonely, aching for a family that left her long ago.

Fourth, she was friends with FN-2187 and two teenagers with keys—how many of them were running around at this point?

Fifth, his blood raced thinking about it, her growing relationship with Han Solo of all people.

The irony.

“And Han Solo,” he spoke again, “You feel as if he’s the father you’ve never had.” His jaw clenched for a moment. “He would have disappointed you.”

It was then he noticed the tears that stained her cheeks as he aired out all her pain and suffering, plain as day.

“Get out of my head,” she spat out.

Kylo obeyed, pulling back but his hand still hovered in front of her face. Time to change tactics. He could ease into it, go through her memories until he arrived at the one she hid closely, but Rey didn’t seem a fan of that tactic—not that he blamed her. “I know you’ve seen the map. It’s in there, and now you’ll give it to me.”

He pressed into her mind again, Rey jerking back in the chair, but keeping her hazel eyes straight on his.

He had to reassure her somehow. “Don’t be afraid, I feel it too.”

“I’m not giving you anything,” she said, voice strained with defiance.

“We’ll see,” he retorted, pushing farther and farther, but still holding back. She was very, very resistant for someone who never withstood any form of interrogation.

Perhaps a little too resistant for his liking. His heart felt warm as she leaned forward, her brows tightening as she was pushing back. A presence entered his own mind, slipping past all his defenses and suddenly the world was full of sunshine and color and reminded him of the time he ran around on a sprawling beach as a child with his parents—

“You,” Rey spoke, and Kylo is terrified. “You’re afraid.”

His eyes widened.

“That you’ll never be as strong as _Darth Vader!”_

He yanked his hand back, anger and confusion, and that damned warmth in his supposed stone-cold heart was spreading through his veins.

Just… who was this girl? She was strong, beyond strong, and somehow resisted his own interrogation, invading his mind.

Kylo Ren couldn’t figure out whether he was mad that he couldn’t get the map out of her head, shaken by how she just had to rub his insecurities in his face, or impressed that she managed, without training in the Force, to push back against him.

* * *

Kairi’s phone beeped as she left the shuttle.

“Naminé, anything?” Kairi answered.

Naminé shook her head, catching Axel leaning over Kairi. _“No, but I’m glad Axel caught up with you guys.”_

Axel scoffed. “As if you guys can get rid of me that easily.”

Sora walked over, catching Naminé on the screen. “No luck with Riku, Roxas, and Xion?”

Pence slid in behind Naminé’s seat. _“Yeah, we think there’s something disrupting our signal. We got an unusually large amount of static whenever we try to contact any of their phones.”_

Axel sighed. “So much for that.”

“Do you think it’s because they’re in the Realm of Darkness?” Sora proposed. “Maybe they had to escape through there.”

Ienzo also popped up on the screen. _“Unlikely. Riku aided us in troubleshooting that sort of signal disruption himself.”_

Pence nodded. _“Yeah like, something else has to be in the way of the signal now. Some sort of shield made of something else.”_

Finn walked over with BB-8 and a man named Poe—Axel had called him that— and stared at Kairi’s phone.

“Is that a comlink?” Poe asked.

Kairi and Sora looked at each other for a brief moment of panic before answering together. “Yeah sure.”

Poe shrugged. “What’s this about a signal?”

“Our friends are still missing,” Axel explained. “We’re trying to reach them but they keep getting major interference.”

Finn’s eyes widened. “I know where they are. They’re on Starkiller Base.”

“What’s Starkiller?” Sora asked.

Finn looked up to the sky. “You know the destruction of the Hosnian System you saw? That’s the weapon that did that.”

Poe’s jaw hardened. “That means your friends are in there. It’s heavily guarded by the First Order.”

Well, that was bad news.

“And,” Finn said. “Rey is there too.”

* * *

Kairi, Sora, Axel, and Finn followed Poe to the command center, where Han was speaking with General Leia before Poe interrupted.

“You must be Finn,” Leia spoke, before turning to Sora and Kairi. “And you’re Lea’s friends, right?”

The two nodded.

Leia gave a wary smile. “I would speak more to the both of you but we are short on time. Thank you for protecting Han, Chewie, and Finn.”

“Ma’am,” Finn said with urgency. “I need your help. My friend was taken—”

Leia nodded. “Han told me about the girl. I’m so sorry.”

“Finn worked on the weapon that destroyed the Hosnian System,” Poe said.

Leia took this all in stride. “We’re desperate for any information you have. We’ll help Rey but we need to know what you know.”

Poe showed Finn the map in the center of the room. A pilot, Snap Wexley, was sent out to take a reconnaissance report of Starkiller Base. All that was left was to wait.

Even worse, the map from BB-8 gave no direction on where to find the famed Luke Skywalker.

* * *

Kairi looked over the wounds Chewie sustained being healed with some sort of patch, Chewie chatting with the nurse examining him. She saw BB-8 in the corner next to a powered-down droid, and talking to him was a golden droid with a red arm named C-3PO.

The general was nowhere to be found. Kairi, curious, went to see where she went when she stopped behind a corner, hearing the low voices of Han and Leia.

“…Every time you look at me you’re reminded of _him_ ,” Han said.

“You think I want to forget him? I want him back,” Leia confessed.

Kairi froze, knowing she was eavesdropping and she should really leave but found she couldn’t. Her heart ached for them. Something bad happened and she wondered if there was anything she could do to help.

“There’s nothing more we could have done. There’s too much Vader in him.”

“That’s why I wanted him to train with Luke. I just shouldn’t have…” Leia paused to collect her thoughts. “I shouldn’t have sent him away, that’s when I lost him. That’s when I lost you both.”

Was this about their son? Wait…

“We lost our son,” Han said, resigned. “Forever.”

The cogs began to turn. Didn’t Han mention he _saw_ their son in the battle on Takodana?

“No, that was Snoke. He seduced our son to the dark side. There's still light in him I know it,” Leia declared.

Kairi tip-toed away, feeling for the once-Princess.

It didn’t take her long to figure out the darkness she had sensed was the son of Leia Organa and Han Solo.

Kairi sighed. What more damage could the darkness do to loved ones? It tested her friendship and bonds over and over, and it tore a family apart once more.

* * *

The failure to retrieve the map from the girl haunted him. Kylo Ren approached his mentor’s hologram, not even bothering to put his mask back on in shock.

Why was his heart burning so?

Kylo braced himself as he explained why the information was not so easily retrieved, how he was confused, and unsure how to proceed. Gently prodding Rey’s head would definitely not work.

“The scavenger resisted you?!” Snoke bellowed.

Kylo felt a little pride at Rey for being able to surprise his mentor. “She is strong with the Force! Untrained but stronger than she knows.”

Plans began to formulate in his mind. Rey’s power was untapped until now, shimmering with potential just like his once upon a time. Maybe he could show her what he knows, prevent his own anguish from being rejected for everything he was, and show her true potential as his apprentice…

“And the droid?” Snoke snarled.

Kylo was brought back to reality.

And that weasel Hux came in to rub it in his face. “Ren believed it was no longer necessary. That the girl was all we need. As a result the droid was delivered into the hands of the enemy. They may have the map already. Their reconnaissance ship was tracked to the Ileenium System.”

“Then the Resistance must be destroyed before they get to Skywalker,” Snoke declared. “Prepare the weapon.”

Panic rushed Kylo’s veins. No, not again. Once was far, far enough. He couldn’t just stand by this time.

Kylo took a step forward, daring to disagree in front of his master. “Supreme Leader I can get the map from the girl. I just need your guidance.”

His tone was shaking.

And Snoke could practically detect his fascination with Rey.

“You have compassion for her.”

“No,” he scrambled to answer. “Never. Compassion? For an enemy of the Order?”

“Kylo Ren. It appears that a reminder is in order. So I will show you the dark side. Bring the girl to me.”

* * *

Finn laid out everything he knew. Everything was dizzying. The second friend he made today and she was taken away by the likes of Kylo Ren. He stood, surrounded by many members of the Resistance around a giant holo-map. Sora, Kairi, and their friend with the weird flaming hair Lea stood in the back, straining to hear the discussion going on.

“It’s another Death Star,” one major said.

Poe tapped in a code onto the holo. “I wish that were the case, Major. This is the Death Star.”

A holo replication of the Death Star, the size of a moon appeared.

“And this is Starkiller Base.”

The base was the size of a full planet, dwarfing the Death Star.

“Holy sh—” Lea began to say before Kairi slapped her hand over his mouth to cut him off.

“That—” Sora pointed to the hologram, “—is a really big weapon.”

“How is it possible to power such a device?” Admiral Ackbar questioned.

Finn cleared his throat. “It uses the power of the sun. Once the weapon is charged, the sun disappears.”

“The sun?” Sora said, jaw gaping. Kairi looked very pale next to him, not that Finn exactly blamed her.

“General,” a woman with blonde braids in her hair walked over to Leia with a report.

Leia sighed. “The First Order, they’re charging the weapon again now. Our system is the next target.”

“Oh my!” C-3PO exclaimed. “Without the Republic Fleet, we’re doomed!”

Finn agreed with that sentiment somewhat. Taking down Starkiller would require a lot of firepower by itself. Still, was C-3PO always this full of anxiety and doomsaying?

“That weapon must be cold enough to contain that heat without blowing up,” Lea muttered.

“He’s right,” another admiral said.

Lea smirked. “Glad to have someone acknowledge it.”

“We’ll need to blow up the thermal oscillator of that thing, and then the energy will cripple the weapon,” the admiral said.

Finn pointed to one on the base. “There is one.” It lit up orange on the holo. “But they have a shield around the entire planet,” Finn said. “Unless you have some way to get past the shields and disable them.”

“I know a way,” Han said. Finn glanced at the odd trio in the back who looked knowingly at each other.

“What way?” Leia said.

“If I told you, you wouldn’t like it,” Han said. Leia rolled her eyes as if she was used to that type of thing with Han.

Sora stepped up. “We’ll go with you. Our friends are inside that base. We’ll help out any way we can.”

Finn felt a great rush of relief at having backup. Kylo Ren couldn’t stand a chance against these three magical mythical keyblade wielders—whatever their powers might be.

* * *

When Kylo Ren took off his mask, Rey did not expect the man underneath. She expected a deformed scarred monstrosity, too shameful of his appearance that he had to hide it away.

Instead, no, he was young and youthful and his hair was somehow magical because it just puffed up in full volume when he shook it out. Rey watched as he struggled to keep his face impassive but when she pushed into his mind—she wasn’t exactly sure how she did that—the cold chill lingering in her bones for years fell away and she was warm. Pleasantly warm. But she also saw his fears and insecurities, this desperate, dying need to fulfill his legacy as a descendant of Darth Vader and the cold snapped right back over her bones. His eyes were a flat betrayal of his every emotion.

Rey saw everything. How he was pushing into her mind, how he fought, how he manipulated people with a wave of his hand, and especially his panic at what she was doing.

He left her in a huff—serves him right for prodding around in her head—and she saw her only opportunity. The little bits she saw on the surface of Kylo’s mind was helpful, she might thank the jerk if she ever saw him again, which she didn’t anticipate on.

Straining against her restraints, Rey tried to reach out with the Force to get them to open. Nothing.

Static from a radio alerted her. She wasn’t alone, but Kylo wasn't here.

“You will remove these restraints and leave this cell with the door open,” Rey said, her voice almost squeaking from the attempt. How did Kylo do it?

A voice obscured by an encoder answered back. “What did you say?”

She tried again, her voice still not one-hundred-percent believing in what she was saying. “You will remove these restraints and leave this cell with the door open.”

The stormtrooper marched over to her and she hoped her trick worked.

“I’ll tighten these restraints, scavenger scum.”

It didn’t.

Rey was about to slump and pout over her failed attempts but she felt a chill down her spine. Kylo was approaching, fast.

She surrendered herself to whatever it was that was giving her these small advantages over Kylo. With a completely monotone and released voice, she spoke her command again. “You will remove these restraints and leave this cell with the door open.”

The stormtrooper straightened and answered back mindlessly. “I will remove these restraints and then leave this cell with the door open.”

And he did just that, leaving the cell in a march.

Rey’s eyes widened at the blissful release of her sore wrists. “And you’ll drop your weapon,” she added hastily.

“And I’ll drop my weapon.”

Rey scrambled out of the cell, feeling the anger and rage of Kylo Ren as she fled down several hallways and corridors.

* * *

“We’re making our landing approach at _light-speed?_ ” Finn said, wondering just how insane Han was.

The Falcon was speeding through the stars. Finn found the novelty of moving at light-speed was wearing off and he did not anticipate Han Solo’s logic and ideas to be this insane and dangerous.

What had he gotten himself into?

He looked at Sora, Kairi, and Lea all acting as if landing at light-speed was just a thing one did.

“Are you guys gonna back me up at how nuts this plan is?” Finn said.

Lea shrugged. “Sounds fine to me.”

Sora was fighting to contain a smile and Kairi whistled innocently.

Finn rubbed his temples. Was everyone here just used to overly-crazy ideas?

Chewie said something.

Han looked at the four of them from the pilot’s seat. “Chewie get ready. Brace yourselves.”

It was perhaps the roughest landing Finn had ever experienced, and he had crashed on Jakku in a TIE fighter. He clung to his seat, his friends retreating in the back to hopefully also cling to something for dear life.

“I am pulling up!” Han yelled at Chewie as they skidded through snow and trees until they slowed to a stop on the edge of a cliff.

Finn was frozen in his seat for a good minute after the _Falcon_ made its stop, unsure whether they were going to fall off the edge of the cliff. He eventually relaxed and jumped up to grab a blaster and prepare to go inside the base and find his friend.

“Well,” Lea said as the gang hiked through the snow. “At least we're in one piece. I’ll take that over being stranded on Jakku.”

“I don’t blame you, that place is a junkyard,” Finn said.

“And full of more sand than I can admit to caring for,” Kairi added.

Sora looked at Kairi with his jaw agape. “Kairi, you were raised on an island full of sand. Do my ears deceive me?”

She ribbed Sora with her elbow. “That has the nice sand silly. Jakku’s sand is coarse and terrible for napping in, but I suppose you would sleep on any surface if you could, even the snow we’re walking on.”

Sora gave a cheeky grin, leaning in and kissing Kairi on the cheek. “I would if we didn’t have a pressing rescue mission on our hands.”

Finn tilted his head. Since when were those two a couple?

“Save the lovey-doveyness for later will ya?” Han grumbled.

They happened upon an outpost just a few yards away from the lower section of the main base.

“Okay kid,” Han said to Finn. “How are we doing this?”

Finn looked at the base. If his memory serves, they were right near the oscillator. “The tunnel over there leads into the base.”

Han nodded. “What was your job here kid?”

Finn paused, knowing he would not like the answer. “Sanitation.”

Han gaped at him. “Sanitation?!”

“Well, you do gotta keep the place clean…” Sora said, scratching the back of his neck.

Kairi facepalmed.

Han grabbed Finn rather roughly by the jacket and pinned him to the concrete wall. “How do you know how to disable the shields?”

Finn swallowed. “I don’t.”

“Uhh,” Lea raised his hand. “I don’t know about you but that would have been important to know before we landed on this very cold rock.”

Han was not having it. “People are counting on us! The whole entire Resistance!”

Okay so maybe Han Solo really did care more than he was going to admit.

Finn admitted why he was here. “I’m just here for Rey. Solo, we’ll figure it out. We’ll... I don’t know, use the Force or something.”

Han looked incredulous. “That’s not how the Force works!”

Sora looked like he was going to burst out laughing.

Finn did not find this situation amusing in the slightest.

* * *

There was a knock on their cell. Riku sprang right up, Xion nodding herself awake.

“Morning sleepyhead,” Roxas said as Xion rubbed her eyes.

Riku approached the door, ready to kick whoever decided to come in. He tugged at his wrist-cuffs, really hoping he could get these things off.

The door opened and Axel stood there, keyblade slung behind his shoulder. “Hello, guys. Need some help?” Axel pointed his keyblade at the cuffs and within seconds they were fried in small orbs of fire.

Riku rubbed his aching wrists. Having them bound all day was not fun; he swore he was going to lose feeling in his hands at some point.

Xion smiled in relief. She embraced her best friend. “Axel! What took you so long?”

Riku raised an eyebrow. “You know, she is right, what did take you guys so long?”

“Uh, short version no gummi-phone signal, I was stuck in a crappy desert, something about the First Order blowing up worlds, and landing on this blizzard of a rock at light speed,” Axel said.

Roxas summoned Oathkeeper and Oblivion to his hands. “Let’s get going before that Kylo Ren emo pops up to knock us out.”

“Oh, so you’ve met him.”

Xion groaned. “Yes. We have. He’s about as lovely as Xehanort.”

“Which version? The one with a darkness complex or a nothingness complex or an identity theft complex?” Axel asked.

Riku sighed, fingers on his temple. “All of the above. Let’s go. Where are Sora and Kairi?”

Axel pointed down the hallway, which was littered with passed out stormtroopers. “They’re searching for a new friend of ours. We’re to rendezvous with Han Solo and Chewie at the ship.”

Roxas’ eyes widened. “You… Were not joking, were you Riku?”

Riku crossed his arms. “I find your lack of faith disturbing, Roxas.”

“’Lead me into everlasting darkness.’” Roxas coughed.

With a roll of her eyes, Xion grabbed Riku by the hand and began dragging him down the hallway. “Boys and their darkness.”

“Said the Princess of Darkness,” Axel added.

Riku found himself blushing as Xion held his hand.

* * *

It felt good being able to watch as Captain Phasma disabled the shields around the planet at blaster-point. Finn was giddy on being able to take control for once, instead of being controlled himself. No longer would he have to obey mindless orders or listen to demands of slaughter from the likes of Phasma and Ren.

“You’re making a big mistake,” Phasma said. “My troops will storm this block and kill you all.”

“Uh, Han,” Kairi spoke up. “What do we do about her?” She pointed her finger at Phasma, glancing at Sora who was watching the doorway with Chewie.

Han smirked. “Is there a garbage chute? Trash compactor?”

Finn returned the sentiment. “Yeah, there is.”

“Better hurry,” Sora said. “We gotta find Rey fast before this whole place goes sky-high soon.”

Finn looked at the monitor. The entire shielding system went down.

Time to implement the explosives in the oscillator.

* * *

Kylo Ren was not having a good day.

The smoke and smell of burning steel burned through his mask. The girl, his one hope of getting to Skywalker and exact his revenge and save the Ileenium System from imminent destruction was missing. There was no guard, which meant she was tapping into the Force now. She probably picked up the ability while invading his mind.

He should have never left her alone; he was too shocked and awed by her ripping his fears out of his head.

It didn’t help he could sense someone else’s Force signature, the one he dreaded confronting, the one he knew he couldn’t avoid any longer, the one belonging to Han Solo.

Kylo knew what he had to do.

He ordered all the hangars on lock-down and made his way to the main oscillator, following the Force-signature of his father, trying to block out the shimmering light calling to him, the one he now recognized as Rey’s.

* * *

Rey turned the corner and nearly fired her blaster in shock.

It was Finn with Han and Sora and Kairi.

“Rey!” Finn exclaimed. “What happened to you? Did Ren hurt you?”

Rey scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. “What are you doing here?”

Sora spoke up. “We’re here to rescue you.”

Chewie pointed to Finn with his bowcaster. “It was his idea.”

Rey thought she was going to cry. No one ever came back for her in all her life. She thought she would have to steal a ship to escape this awful place and the wrath of Kylo, alone.

She embraced her first friend, tears glistening in her eyes. “Thank you,” she said to Finn.

Finn hugged her back, and for once she felt cared for. Affection warmed her heart.

“Wait,” he said. “How did you get away?”

Fear trickled down her spine. No one else knew about her situation save for Kylo and Maz. “I cannot explain it,” she answered. “You wouldn’t believe it.”

Han slide over. “Escape now, hug later.”

* * *

Kairi was so happy to see Rey didn’t even have a scratch on her, but something felt different about her. Something had changed, and her saying “I cannot explain it,” only served to drive Kairi’s concerns farther.

But Han was right. Escape the base, hug later.

Her phone rang as they jogged through the halls to the oscillator.

It was Axel. _“Heyo!”_

 _“Oh, now our phones work,”_ Roxas’ unmistakable voice grumbled in the back.

“Axel!” Kairi greeted. “You got the others?”

_“Yeah, we’re making our way to the Falcon. You found Rey?”_

Kairi nodded. “Yep! Setting the explosives and we’re on our way.”

_“Gotcha. Be safe you two. I know how much trouble you and Sora seem to get in more than usual.”_

Sora scoffed. “We do not get into that much trouble.”

Kairi glanced at her lovable but very self-sacrificial boyfriend.

 _“Ah, let me correct myself,_ Sora _gets into a lot of trouble.”_ Axel turned the camera to show Roxas walking beside him. _“Exhibit A.”_

_“Axel, I swear I will yeet that phone at that emo with the knock-off Ethereal Blade next time we run into him.”_

_“Is that our nickname for Kylo Ren now?”_ Xion’s voice said off-screen.

Rey heard that. “I was gonna say he’s the equivalent of a pompous snake but that works too.”

 _“Don’t jinx us, Roxas,”_ said Riku. _“I’d rather not run into him again.”_

Rey held her blaster tighter. “Amen.”

 _“Anyways, meet you guys at the Falcon?”_ Axel said.

Kairi nodded. “Yes. We should be fine here.”

 _“If you’re sure,”_ Riku said off-screen. _“Kylo Ren overpowered us three to one.”_

Well, wasn’t that reassuring, but that did not deter Kairi in the slightest. She chanced a look at Han who seemed to be rather quiet. Her heart felt for him; she couldn’t imagine how it must feel, having your own son fallen to darkness.

The call ended. Sora looked at Kairi whose smile had faded away to concern. He squeezed her hand. “Kairi?”

“I’m fine,” she said.

Darkness approached.

She wasn’t used to feeling it so strongly just from one person, even as just a presence. This galaxy worked in mysterious ways.

Reaching the oscillator after trekking through more snow, they set a plan. They split up, Rey, Finn, Sora, and Kairi taking knocking out stormtroopers and hacking open the doors. Moving outside, Kairi and Rey caught sight of the sky. Clouds rolled in and the sky darkened as the sun was disappearing.

“Where’s Han and Chewie?” Sora asked.

“We can check up there,” Finn said, pointing to a ladder.

The four climbed up the ladder, the sky darkening faster and faster as if sunset fell within seconds rather than an hour.

At the top, Kairi spotted Chewie on the upper levels of the fuel cells and Han was moving on the bottom floor, approaching a figure in black.

“Kairi is Han and Chewie—oh,” Sora moved up to her side, taking her hand in his.

Rey moved to climb down the ladder, seeing Han walking but stopped when Han’s voice shouted so loud and clear it echoed off the walls.

“Ben!”

Kylo stopped and turned around. “Han Solo,” he said, voice very distorted to the point it unnerved Kairi, making her squeeze Sora’s hand tighter.

Kylo continued. “I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.”

Han took slow steady steps closer to Kylo. “Take off that mask, you don’t need it.”

“What do you think you’ll see if I do?”

“The face of my son.”

So Kylo did. All that could be seen at that distance was long dark locks, matching with the black robes he wore. It was hard to see his expression from the distance in the dim red light and the dying day.

“Your son,” Kylo said, voice echoing, voice no longer distorted. He was just a guy. A regular guy. “He’s gone. He was weak and foolish like his father, so I destroyed him.”

Han continued to approach his son. “That's what Snoke wants you to think. But it’s not true. My son is _alive._ ”

“No, the Supreme Leader is wise.”

Kairi looked to Sora who shrugged, having no clue who this Supreme Leader is.

Han explained to Kylo he was being used and would dispose of him in a flash.

Their voices got softer and softer, no longer echoing clearly.

The darkness flared about the room.

Kairi watched with bated breath, hoping that father and son could reconcile, that Han could convince Kylo that it wasn’t too late, that he can be free of the darkness taking a hold of his heart.

Darkness only grew and grew.

Before they knew it, red light pierced through Han’s back.

“No!”

A wail from Chewie.

Han fell off the bridge, pushed by Kylo Ren.

Rey was sobbing.

“No…” Sora muttered.

Kairi was stunned. She couldn’t move.

Who would do such a thing? Why? But Han went back for his son… Han loved his son.

Chewie roared in anguish and fired his bowcaster right at Kylo.

* * *

What had he _done?_

He did it. He did what he was supposed to, and his heart hurt and ached and it was so painful. His soul was being torn apart.

Kylo Ren did what he was expected to, kill the light within himself, but all he could do as his father touched his cheek one last time was stare with tears threatening to fall once more.

What. Had. He. Done?

It should have made his conflict resolve. It shouldn’t have hurt. But all it did was hurt more.

He heard Rey’s cries and shouted, her shimmering light dulling as he stood there, numb.

What had he done?

He didn’t want this. Kylo Ren held back the lump in his throat as he told himself _no no no no…_

His own uncle shot at him as he deserved, the bowcaster bolt hitting his side and knocking him to his knees.

An explosion went off in the firefights that ensued and he looked up to the girl, Rey. In his pain, he sensed her shimmering light fading. Why was it fading? Kylo didn’t understand any of this.

Perhaps darkness was taking root and maybe she was the push he needed.

He forced himself to move, never taking his eyes off of Rey even as he limped with his lightsaber tight in his grip.

Kylo would not let her get away again.

* * *

Sora swallowed as he and Kairi followed Rey and Finn through the forest.

“The _Falcon_ is this way,” Finn said. “We gotta get out of here now before the planet collapses.”

Kairi stayed silent, and in truth, Sora couldn’t really say anything either with what they both just witnessed. None of them really could speak words.

The stories that Sora grew up with, one of his own heroes, was killed in front of him, by his own kid. Sora couldn’t even fathom doing that to his own dad or hurting any of his friends for that matter.

Kairi stopped, leaning against a tree. Finn and Rey went on ahead and Sora stopped to tend to her.

“Kairi?”

She looked so downtrodden. “What just happened, Sora? I… I don’t get it. I know we’ve fought the likes of Xehanort before and the Master of Masters is no good but… It doesn’t make sense. Kylo just killed his own father who loved him! What kind of a person does that?!”

Sora held her by the shoulders. “Someone with a lot of darkness, Kairi. Remember what happened to Xehanort? He killed his best friend.”

Kairi nodded before she saw a black figure in the distance with a red glowing weapon. “Sora look!”

Sora turned around. Kylo Ren was in front of Rey and Finn, and his face up close betrayed a look of pure anger and anguish.

A scream from Rey and a shout from Finn. Rey was thrown against a tree and collapsed in the snow.

“Hey leave them alone!” Sora said, his blood boiling. Kylo Ren was not about to take another life again.

He summoned his keyblade charging forward before slamming right into a wall and falling backward into the snow.

“Nu uh-huh, can’t have you two interfere while destiny takes hold now!” a familiar jovial voice spoke in a black leather coat.

Kairi rushed to Sora’s side, helping him up before summoning her own keyblade. “The Master of Masters!” the two said together.

“Let us through!” Kairi yelled.

“Yeah, get out of the way!” Sora demanded, Kingdom Key shaking in his grip. “They’re our friends and we can’t lose them too!”

The Master of Masters laughed. “Oh, you two are so cute together. Always rushing face-first into danger to protect your friends. Now, you’re going to sit here in this little dome while the two destined to meet have a little chat with lightsabers, and you’re going to listen to me.”

Kairi had enough. “No way are we going to listen to you!”

“Ah such a shame Princess, because this concerns you most. See, this galaxy,” the Master took a little stroll around the perimeter of the dome, “Is made of both light and darkness in its very pure forms. It has a very weird relationship different from where we’re from. It manifests in the Force, and your little Rey of sunshine and supposed enemy Kylo Ren have it.” His hands were exaggerating his words. “The Force seeks balance and if there is no balance then you have the issue we have today. Worlds crumbling to dust, hearts flickering out, yadda yadda you get the gist.”

Sora relaxed from his stance. “So you’re saying there’s no balance?”

“Bingo!” the Master said. “Now, there is some weird prophecy that two souls, strong and equal in the Force, will bring balance but it’s a bit hmm, how can I explain it, fragile.”

Kairi tightened her grip. “Fragile because you’re interfering.”

The Master laughed. “Ah, feisty Princess. _You’re_ meddling in the affairs of all-powerful and great destiny! The Force is a fickle thing and it tethered Rey and Kylo together. Aww, how adorable.”

Sora shook his head in defiance. “You’re just making stuff up! You don’t even have the Force.”

“True, I don’t have the Force, but Kairi can sense it, can’t you? That little bond tethering the two together, doesn’t that remind you of something, Princess?”

Sora looked at Kairi, whose keyblade slackened in her grip as she watched two dueling lights in the trees, blue cutting through red.

“No way…” Kairi muttered.

“That’s crazy!” Sora stomped his foot. “Rey is bonded with Kylo Ren? He’s going to hurt her!” He swung his keyblade, glaring at the Master with all of his anger.

The Master stopped his footsteps. “Oh is he?” He leaned over and put his hand up, peering through the invisible wall keeping them trapped. “Hmm, looks to me, your new friend Rey is trying to hurt him. Dare I saw it; she might even be tapping into her own darkness for revenge.”

Sora squinted, watching helplessly as the Master was right. Rey went on the full offensive, and Kylo looked panicked as he parried each of her strikes before being kicked down.

“Now, a little dilemma,” the Master resumed his overly long speech. Did this guy ever quit monologuing? “You two meddlers got the entire fate of the galaxy in your hands now, congratulations!” He clapped his hands. “But in all seriousness, if either one of those two dramatic Force-sensitives perishes, then the whole galaxy will basically fall to pieces. Have fun!”

The Master snapped his fingers and he disappeared in a cloud of smoke and the dome vanished.

“I really hate that guy,” Sora said, wishing he could have gotten a round with the chaotic puppetmaster.

In the fall of the snow, and silence, Sora spotted Finn lying down in the snow. “Finn!”

He and Kairi kneeled down in the snow to examine a giant burn down Finn’s back, fraying apart his jacket and his shirt. Kairi raised her keyblade up to heal the wound, but Finn did not wake up and it would for sure leave a permanent scar.

“Why is it not fully healed?” Kairi questioned. “And…” She took a look at the two lights dancing in the trees. “Why do I have a feeling the Master of Masters is right?”

That caused Sora’s stomach to sink very, very far. “He’s just messing with our heads,” Sora said. “He does that a lot.”

* * *

The Master of Masters was right.

Kairi didn’t know why, or how, but she just knew every single word he said was true as he saw something as Kylo and Rey dueled.

The darkness in Kylo ebbed away and she saw a light trapped within, and the light in Rey dulled as darkness took over. Rey was trying to kill Kylo Ren out of revenge.

But that didn’t mean every word the Master said was right. Right?

She looked back down at Finn’s wound, finding he was still breathing but the burn on his back was deep enough. Why hadn’t it healed fully? Their magic was always enough, usually.

It wasn’t an ordinary wound though; it was dealt by a lightsaber. The stroke looked shaky as if it was clean but the weapon itself was not perfectly formed.

But lightsaber wounds were just burns, it should be easy to heal like any other, like a stray fire spell gone wrong in training or a Heartless fight.

There was so much about this galaxy that none of them truly knew about.

Her heart ached again and she felt very weak. “Nghh…”

“Kairi!” Sora held her up. “You okay?”

She panted heavily. “I don’t know. I think this world is falling to pieces too. The heart is dying.”

Sora’s eyes widened in horror.

* * *

Rey felt something sing within her as she struck down Kylo, tearing a wound open right on his face and down his neck. Her aim was a bit shoddy due to the darkness of the forest and the pressure of his strength bearing down on her, so the cut didn't hit deep. She wanted it to go deeper.

He laid there, helpless and wounded farther, the monster before Rey writhing on the ground. Her glare only got more intense and within moments she would raise her lightsaber and finish him off. She would avenge Han’s death by eliminating his murderer.

Kylo stared at her, gasping for breath, his expressive eyes… Unreadable for once. Like Rey cared. She didn’t care for monsters who murdered their own family in cold-blood.

She stops herself, realizing this was the pull of darkness, and she was inches from crossing the threshold.

The ground shook beneath her feet and she was torn several feet away from Kylo, his life spared by the imminent collapse of the planet and her conscience becoming clear.

She rushed over to Finn, tears pouring down her cheeks at everything. Too much. Everything was far, far too much.

To her relief, Sora and Kairi were there next to Finn.

“He’ll be alright,” Sora said. “But we need to get out of here.”

The light of the _Millennium Falcon_ was a sight for sore eyes, even if it reopened a very fresh, fresh wound.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *sing songs* Onto transitioning into TLJ now~
> 
> (also they have phones in the KH universe and Instagram you think the KH cast wouldn't pick up some minor internet slang here and there? XD)


End file.
